


Summer Tides

by ClassicTeapot



Series: Vampire / Werewolf Stories [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Budding Love, Fluff, Friendship, KisaIta - Freeform, M/M, NaruSasu - Freeform, Naruto and Sasuke are kids, Protective Naruto, Shenanigans, Vampire Uchiha Sasuke, Werewolf Uzumaki Naruto, cuteness, protective itachi, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-18 11:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11290197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClassicTeapot/pseuds/ClassicTeapot
Summary: Naruto was lost in his own world, just looking at the way the colored lights splashed upon the skin of his best friend. Sasuke looked his way, throwing him a pointed-tooth smile. Naruto took a hard gulp, his inner wolf stirring with nerves. He couldn’t quite place what this feeling was but he didn't want it to end.





	1. Pick Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm finally writing a complementary story with "What's so Spooky about Christmas!" It's under its own series now so that if inspiration sparks in this particular au I can stick in a story! 
> 
> You don't have to read "What's so Spooky about Christmas" first to understand, I tried to set it up in a way people can catch on.
> 
> Thanks for stopping in, enjoy!

Naruto raced excitedly through the forest, going as fast as his paws would let him. The air was warm but he had a good cool breeze that ruffled his fur with every bush and branch he passed by. His hurry was mainly out of excitement of seeing his best friend Sasuke but also at the fun agenda he had planned out for the both of them. It wasn’t very often his poor friend got to leave out the house, but he always seemed to manage if Naruto got involved in it. There was so much the raven didn’t know or hadn’t experience about the modern world since he was so cooped up, but Naruto was determined to show him as much of it as he could.

The thick forest started to thin only a bit but the scent of it suddenly changed drastically. Naruto’s heart was still beating fast from the long run he had just accomplished when he stopped at a certain corner of the woods to spy into an old large mansion that sat in the middle of a clearing. He didn’t dare to enter the territory any further; he was already far enough in to be in violation of the code. But he figured he could slide by on this, he was coming to pick up his friend after. 

He tried to sharpen his eyesight to peer in through the dark windows, for any hope of spotting his spiky haired friend. Some of the window's drapes were open but the outdoor light failed to illuminate the house well enough to make out much inside. He quickly gave up and sighed, the house was so dark and still looking inside, you would think it was abandoned. This was the famous home for one of the most powerful vampire clans in the region, formally known as the Uchiha residency. Naruto believed they didn’t know how to use electricity; he really wished they would.

Naruto didn’t hesitate when he let a low gurgle-like howl slip through his maw. He honestly didn’t like attracting the attention of the other Uchiha that may reside in the household but he didn’t have any other way to contact Sasuke. Sasuke was sheltered heavily by his family and he knew that the times that he came, and managed or didn’t manage to coax the boy to leave out his house and play with him, that it was incredibly likely his family had a watchful eye on him all throughout the process. Sasuke and him never talked about it, but Naruto knows that vampires have excellent hearing. 

The prickling feeling on Naruto’s skin made him know he was likely being watched this very moment. 

oOoOoOo 

Sasuke was laying next to his brother on the old family couch, bored out of his mind. The windows let in pools of natural light that illuminated Sasuke’s stretched form and his brothers hunched figure. The sunlight didn’t bother them of course, the age of burning in sunlight being ejected from vampire genes over time. Itachi was engrossed in a lecture written in some archaic language and Sasuke was waiting impatiently for him to finish.

“How much longer?”, he groaned, kicking his sore legs softly over the arm of the couch.

“I will be finished in due time. Some good things in life you cannot rush, Sasuke.” A page turned.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke barely managed to hold in a retort he wanted to snap at his always cryptic brother. He asked a question, why could he reply with an actual time frame like a normal person would?

“And I’m not a normal person, remember Sasuke? We’re vampires.”

“Stop trying to pretend like you can read minds! It’s not possible! …how did you know I was thinking that?”

Itachi graced him by lifting his eyes from his book for a second with a small smile on his lips, “It’s the usual response you like to give me, otouto.”

Sasuke let out a sound of frustration and let his head flop in between the space created by the back of the couch and the slant of his brother’s back. All he wanted was for Itachi to teach him some jutsu. The Uchiha’s have many techniques of working energy into something powerful. A true great vampire should be skilled in the arts of energy manipulation. Ranging from messing with the elements or possessing certain creatures, the greatest strength of a vampire not only mattered on its physical form but the capacity of its mental state too. 

That’s a partial reason why his old old uncle Madara eventually bit the dust, his mental state was corrupted and he went completely batty. His brother, though, was very skilled in the arts of energy manipulation and Sasuke would beg and beg every time his brother came home from his journeys to show him how to do them.

It was always the same thing and the same excuses; you’re not ready Sasuke, it’s too risky Sasuke, there’s no need to worry about dangers, we’ll protect you Sasuke. He mainly only got to observe from the clearing or when he spied him through his window. Itachi was amazing. He wanted to be like him. But it seemed his brother, plus his mom and dad, never wanted him to advance further. They didn’t want him to lead the repressive life as a true monster but Sasuke was starting to want to hop in.

“Itachi, can you please try to show me some tricks? Promise I won’t tell mom and dad.” No reaction. Sasuke sat up and peered over Itachi’s shoulders. “Can you teach me how to summon crows? Like you can?”

Itachi sighed, “Sasuke, you’re too young to even begin mastering techniques like that. Your body won’t be able to take it.”

“Yes it can!” Sasuke glared at his brother, “I’m not some tiny little kid anymore, I can handle it.”

That caused Itachi to spare him another glance from his reading to give him a once over. It was true. It seemed for the longest of times, quite a few good years actually, that his perfect little brother had been always constant in this adorable age of cherub cuteness. But the once chubby little legs had lengthened into thinner pale limbs and the once round cute face had changed to one that wasn’t quite as soft. In Itachi’s eyes his little brother will always be his little brother, but he also couldn’t help but notice the sudden quickened paced growth of Sasuke’s body. It all started around the time he began hanging around the werewolf. 

He frowned just a bit, looking Sasuke in the eye, “Yes… I suppose you’re not.”

Sasuke wasn’t sure what the sad look that passed on his brother’s face was about so he rolled his eyes, thinking Itachi was only being dramatic again. He opened his mouth, about to urge his brother on about some training he wanted to do when the unmistakable howl of a wolf cut through the air. 

Their heads simultaneously turned to a window where the sound was strongest. Looking through, they could see a glimmer of golden fur peeking briefly through the trees at the mouth of the clearing. A grin immediately appeared on Sasuke’s face and he jumped off the couch, jogging his way to the front door.

“What happened to wanting to practice? You’re going to kick me to the curb, as they say?” he brother inquired, lifting a brow. Sasuke actually managed to look a bit sheepish. “Something’s come up I guess. Plus, you weren’t going to show me anything anyways.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know you.” Sasuke looked at the grand staircase that leads to the second floor; the level his parents mainly stayed on. “Don’t tell them I left. Can you cover for me?”

“I’m sure they are already well aware you are planning to leave, and if they didn’t want you to they’d be down here to stop you.”

Itachi followed his little brother to the door and stepped out behind him when he passed the threshold. Bringing his hand to his forehead to deflect the sun from his vision, he squinted carefully in the direction of the wolf. He frowned when he saw it go into a pouncing position out of excitement when he caught sight of Sasuke, tail wagging vigorously. “What exactly is the name of your little friend again? Nakajima? Makuru?”

“It’s Naruto. You don’t have to watch me! Go back inside.” Sasuke urged, pushing his brother back into the house. Itachi chuckled at the embarrassed reaction but didn’t follow the request. In fact, he decided to do the exact opposite. “Naruto!” He called out, not raising his voice too much because he knew, or rather he hoped, that the werewolf possessed good hearing as well. “Come over here, I would like to have a chat with you.” The wolf paused, raising back up and hesitantly stepped into the clearing. Sasuke was mortified, throwing a fit and hissing threats into his brother’s ears. Itachi paid him no mind. 

The large lanky werewolf soon approached before them; long nails from large paws passing over the windflowers and golden ears twitching, not quite too sure if they should stand up with caution or lay back with unease. When he was about 5 feet away from Itachi, he saw the werewolf shift, turning into a blond haired kid with blue eyes, three whisker marks on each cheek, and a half smile. If Itachi had to take a guess, the boy was likely just entering his teens. He was about an inch taller than Sasuke but measuring up their looks, they appeared to be the same age anyway. “Hey I’m Naruto! Sasuke’s friend.” As if to prove it, he threw an arm over the shoulders of his embarrassed brother. 

“You must be Itachi! Sasuke talks about you all the time, like how cool you are, how strong you are, how good at-” A hand from his otouto shot up and covered the mouth of the chatty blond. Itachi actually felt somewhat pleased that he wasn’t the only one to receive the sharp glare from him today. 

“Pleased to meet you, Naruto.” He extended his hand, observing the look of surprise that crossed the blond’s face when he went to shake his painted fingers. “I trust that you are going to look out for my little brother in… whatever escapades you have planned for the day.”

“Of-of course! I always take good care looking after Sasu-argh! Hey!” Naruto whined at the sharp elbow Sasuke jabbed in his side.

Glaring back at his older brother, “Cut it out Itachi. You’re making Naruto nervous.”

“Am I… making you nervous Naruto?” Itachi took a small step forward, secretly pleased again when he saw a large swallow hit the boy’s throat and he denied the statement with vigor, inadvertently relaying the opposite. Good, he should be nervous. 

“It’s really good to meet you! I never come any closer because, well you know the territory line. Werewolves are not supposed to cross over this far.”

“Hmm, well, I suppose it’s alright because you’re still young and you are one of my precious little brother’s friends.” Itachi blinked slowly, looking the blue eyed boy in the eye. “Therefore, I expect you from now on to receive my little brother from the door like a proper gentleman and not try to lure him away into the forest like he’s Little Red Ridding Sasuke. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir! Itachi sir!” Naruto gave out an involuntary laugh, likely out of nerves, but returned the squeeze of the handshake. Itachi smiled, “Perfect. Enjoy your day.” He returned into the shade of the house and a very pink face Sasuke practically pulled Naruto across the clearing to get as far away from his family home as possible. 

“Wow, your brother is really protective of you, huh Sasuke.” Naruto chuckled, letting the other boy drag him back into the forest.

“Ugh, shut it.” Sasuke let go and put his face in his hands to calm down a bit. “I don’t know why he was breathing down your neck like that. I’m not a baby but my whole family insists on treating me like one.”

“Hey, hey,” Naruto grabbed his hands, bringing them down from his face and smiled at the pout that he knew Sasuke would never admit was sitting on his lips. “I think it’s pretty cool they’re protective of you. That just means they really care about you! Haha most of the time my mom is the one chasing me out the house, but that’s because I’m really messy.”

The bright smile of Naruto always seemed to work magic on Sasuke, just seeing his happy face filled him with a sense of exhilaration and acceptance

“Hn, I guess so.” He looked down at their held hands. “So where exactly are we going today?”

“Oh, it’s a surprise!” A mischievous grin passed his lips, “It’s in Konoha. You’re going to love this Sasuke.” He changed himself back into a wolf and got ready to bolt, “Race you to the city!” 

The werewolf ran quickly but Sasuke chased not too far behind, finally letting another smile brush his lips. What he loved about Naruto the most was the way he made him feel. Naruto didn’t treat him like a delicate flower, didn’t talk words around him and never pulled one in a wolf-on-vampire wrestling match. Naruto made him feel like his equal, despite their difference in race. He felt like he could really be his true self when they were around each other and Sasuke could feel the pressure and stifling borders of the Uchiha mansion fly away. And even though vampires don’t have heartbeats, Sasuke’s never felt more alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Protective Itachi gives me life (♥ω♥*)
> 
> Let me know what you think! Kudos/comments are always welcome~


	2. Fair

“Hahaha-Ouch! Hahaha-Ouch!” Sasuke shook his head, plucking out another sphere prickle from friend’s fur. “Dobe. You do realize that it’s mainly me that comes to your rescue right?” 

During their very serious race across the forest, Naruto had an unfortunate run in with a prickle bush and got several of the spiky seeds stuck to his wolf ’s coat. Naruto blamed it all on Sasuke, saying it was because the raven had suddenly cut in front of him during their run that he failed to see the long branch sitting on the forest floor. He tripped, rolling down a small bumpy hill that landed him inside the painful bushes. Sasuke was quick to turn back but by the time he got to him Naruto more so resembled a porcupine than a wolf. 

“Hehe, it was pretty funny though you have to admit. You’re usually the prickly one so why did I fall in? But thanks for- ah! Helping get them off me.” Naruto said, still in his wolf form. He had tried shaking off all of them off but to no avail. He also wasn’t sure that when he went through the mysterious shift of a werewolf if the pricklies would still remain or not, but he had rather not of test out the possibility.

“That’s the last one.”

“Great!”, Naruto went a few steps back and changed back into a boy. He was wearing a neon orange t-shit as per usual with black trainers. Sasuke had on his usual blue shirt and shorts. “Alright, let’s kick it Sasuke! It’s over here.” 

Sasuke had been to the city once before but he didn’t question Naruto as they skipped over the direction to head downtown. They left the thinning forest for open fields, right on the outskirts of Konoha. Sasuke eyes widened at the display they were approaching and Naruto shot him a grin, “Hey, we’re here.”

Sasuke looked around, amazed with all the colored instruments and machinery that decorated the area. There was odd music playing. The only way he could describe it is as whacky melodies that sometimes went off key. His mother only ever played jazz and orchestral music in their home so he wasn’t slightly sure what to call this. 

He turned at the movement of a huge spinning machine that contained humans; listening to their screams and deciding they weren’t out of fear. He listened to the dings of bells, the pop of balloons, the roar of cars on tracks, and the laughter of children. He could smell sweet foods, fried foods, gunpowder, and blood.” A sensory overload of everything started to cause him to almost feel faint. He shook his head and change his focus to Naruto alone. “This is an amusement park, right?”, asked, matching up the imagery with the descriptions of one that he read about one once in a book.

Naruto chuckled, “Well, actually this is called a fair. Not as fancy as a park per say but Konoha does this every summer.” He pointed over to a machine that simulated the motions of hang gliding. “Let’s do the cliffhanger first. You’ve never been on a coaster before right? This one should be pretty easy.”

Sasuke nodded and shadowed Naruto as he purchased enough tickets for the both of them and stood in line for the attraction. He felt the swoosh of the air brush back his hair as the machine descended. Sasuke made sure that his expression stayed neutral because he didn’t want to cause the appearance of any of the anxious emotions swirling through his mind. He wasn’t scared of heights per say but he didn’t exactly enjoy the idea of being too high off the ground. He was a vampire, not a bird! If Sasuke were to fall from a high distance he likely wouldn’t be killed from it but it’s just the principality of it.

But he also didn’t want to disappoint his best friend, because Sasuke was sure that if he did turn down the offer to go Naruto wouldn’t go anymore himself. Plus, this would be a great way to prove to himself that he wasn’t really scared of he -

“Here you go!”, Naruto gave the gatekeeper their tickets and literally pulled Sasuke out of his musing and onto the horizontal seats of the faux hang glider. Naruto laid down in the middle and Sasuke took the one to the right with a shaky breath.

“This is one of my favorite rides Sasuke; it makes you feel like you’re flying!” The gate keeper came around and closed the safety harness over their backs with the clank of metal. Sasuke most definitely didn’t watch closely as she walked away.

There was a sudden jerk of the machine and Sasuke knew if he had a heartbeat that it would be knocking rapidly against his chest. He pressed his lips together tightly and Naruto opened his to let out a shout of joy. The machine rose several good feet off the ground and started spinning them quickly in a circle. They were moving so fast and Sasuke’s sharp eyes could barely keep up with processing the details of every angle they spun in. He shut them when he felt a small stab of pain from the strain. _Just relax and stay calm_ , he told himself. _This is supposed to be fun. Just relax and…”_

He opened his eyes in shock when he felt a hand grab on to his left one. The harness was blocking half of Naruto’s face but Sasuke could see the bright smile he bore. The fingers wrapped firmly around his hand and Naruto turned his head back to the front, screaming out in happiness at the rush. Sasuke soon found himself grinning and releasing a few laughs of his own. 

He just shut off his mind, and let himself feel the wind in his hair and the warmth on his hand.

He could now figure out why people were driven to these attractions. It challenged a part of themselves, rushing their fears and their motives. You had to be willing to accept it; the danger and the thrill. For those who do, it makes them feel like Superman; invincible.

But for Sasuke, to be able to leave his usual environment and to even jump on this crazy thing, it made him feel human.

He was full blown laughing, letting himself enjoy the low swoops that tickled somewhere deep in his belly, and the sharp turns that pressed him closely on either side of the harness. He really did feel like he was flying. 

All too soon it seemed, the ride came to an end. It lowered back to the ground. When they got out, both their hair was super windblown and they made playfully gibes at each other about it.

“That was so cool, right Sasuke?” Naruto asked. “Are you up to do any more”

Sasuke smirked, “Duh.”

The werewolf and vampire bounced around the fair to hit as many of the coasters as they could. They got on the double shot, the pirate ship, the teacup spinners, and the rotor. It was like they were drunk of the thrill of the machines. They got off their last one stumbling and pink faced from laughing.

“That was awesome”, Naruto holding on to Sasuke’s arm to keep himself steady. “Geese I need to eat though. Are you hungry Sasuke?”

The raven smirked at the question. He loved how Naruto tended to forget what he was. It made him feel better than his race. “No, I caught a deer last night so I’m good.”

“Oh right!” Naruto tapped the top of his forehead. “Vampire, right. Hey I never really asked you this but I was wondering, can you actually eat normal food?”

“Well yeah.”, he blinked. “It’s not like it would hurt us. It’s just that eating solid food means that it will come out as solid waste. Why deal with that if we don’t have too?”

“Sasuke, that means you never have to go poop!” Naruto exclaimed loudly, causing many of the surrounding people to turn their heads turn their way. 

“Shut up, Dobe” Sasuke hissed. 

The blond giggled, “That’s really funny. I never knew that about vampires. That should be in a monster trivia game.” 

A kid that had been on the rotor with them suddenly lurched forward and hurled in the grass. Sasuke’s nose curled at the smell. “Gross. That’s another reason why we don’t eat your stuff.”

“That’s not because the food tastes bad, he just couldn’t hold it in on the roller coaster. He probably ate before going on. Everybody knows that’s taboo.” Naruto stopped in front of a vendor stand that boasted bright colors and the greasy smell of fried food. “Well if you can eat it, you should have something from here. Fried foods are delicious~”

A thin man greeted them out the window and asked for their order. “Hey mister, can I get an order of fried Oreos?”, Naruto glanced back at him. “What do you want to try?”

Sasuke looked up at the board that listed all of the types of fried foods. He honestly wasn’t too sure what most of them were because his family just didn’t eat human food. Elephant ears? He hoped not. Tater tot? They also had funnel cakes, Oreos, corn dogs, sweet corn, but it was the fried green tomatoes that sounded the most appealing. “I’ll take the tomatoes.”

“That’ll be ten bucks.”

Naruto unzipped a pocket in his trainers and pulled out his wallet. Sasuke swiftly felt guilty. He didn’t even think to grab his own wallet from up in his room before he left. Naruto already paid for his tickets and now his food. 

“I’ll pay you back next time.” He mumbled. Naruto just waved him off though, saying it was no big deal and he just wanted Sasuke to enjoy everything.

“Here you go kids.” The man handed them both their orders. Naruto stuffed his face with an oreo as soon as he got it, moaning at the sweet goodness of it. 

“You’ve got chocolate all over your mouth, you goof.” Sasuke chuckled, cutting a piece of the tomato with the plastic knife he was given. He popped it in his mouth and Naruto saw his eyes go wide. He chewed in amazement at the sweet yet spiced fruit. It had to be one of the best things he’s ever tasted in his life. “Naruto, this is actually really good.”

“Haha, yeah I can tell. You practically have stars in your eyes.”

Sasuke rolled his stars and worked on his second slice of tomato. While they munched, they entered a little fun house. There were funny mirrors everywhere. Sasuke was super interested at how the mirror's shape warped the images in front of them; making Sasuke stretched out super tall and thin or Naruto super short and wide. 

Leaving there they reached a long row of game booths. There were all sorts of people, young and old, trying their luck at a ton of different colorful and noisy games. Little kids were running with bags of fish they won and others carried toys and stuffed animals. 

They decided to play a few games since they were there, trying to outdo each other in how many balloons they popped, bottles they knocked down, and mini basketball shots they made. For the most part, they were evenly matched but there was this one game that Sasuke just couldn’t get. The grinning big mustached man that was operating the game kept taking the tickets Sasuke gave him in order to retry his luck at tossing little ringed circles around the neck of glass bottles a few feet away from them. Each ring looked like it was going to make its target but it just bounced right off of them with a glass ping. He was getting super frustrated. Actually, they had seen a line at the booth earlier at it seemed anybody that played couldn’t win. Naruto did tell him though that many of these games are rigged. But Sasuke was determined to wipe the grin off the manager’s face.

“Aww, that’s it. Better luck next time kid. Unless you have more tickets for me?” Sasuke frowned at the man, not entirely willing to hand over his last ticket. 

“Naruto, you have to try this game.” He said, determined. 

“Ehh, yeah I guess I could try”, he said. Personally, Naruto knew it was almost impossible to win this particular game at the fair. He was willing to try it a few times but he wasn’t going to let it get to his head. He thought the determined look on Sasuke’s face was pretty cute though, so he would definitely do it for him.

Naruto exchanged a ticket for five rings. Setting his brow in concentration, he tossed the first ring. Thud! It flew all the way to the back of the tent, hitting the fabric. 

“Don’t throw it too hard Dobe!”

“Okay, okay I know. Give me a second.” He stuck his tongue out in concentration, throwing the next ring. It simulated the effects of a skipping rock, bouncing along the bottles three times. 

Sasuke was going to make another retort but knew it wasn’t going to help any. He should give some encouraging words. “You can do it Naruto, I believe in you.”

Sparing him a glance, Naruto tossed the third ring. And incredibly it hit! Sasuke’s jaw dropped in amazement; even the manager looked at it with shock.

“You’ve made a ring! However, you have to make three in order to win a prize.” Gesturing to the row of stuff animals that were hanging above his head. 

“That’s no problem,” Naruto smirked, “I think I finally figured out the secret to your game.” He tossed the next two rings quickly and they both made their targets! They went around the necks of the bottle so in total he had three. “Yeah! Naruto!” Sasuke threw his arms around his friend’s shoulders, shaking them, and Naruto laughed, raising his eyebrow at the manager. 

“You- you did it! Oh well, I guess you can choose a prize.”

Naruto directed his smile to Sasuke, “What do you want Sasuke?”

“Huh, nothing. You won it fair and square, you should keep the prize.”

“But I want you to have it! This is your first time at the fair, I want you to leave with something to remember it by. Plus, it would make me feel good if you keep it.” 

Sasuke sighed, not knowing why his cheeks suddenly flushed. He felt like Naruto was treating too sweetly but if it would make him happy… _make him happy to make me happy ughh._

“I’ll take...” Sasuke looks up at the colorful stuffed creatures hanging by a thread. They had common animals like bears and lions but a certain plush caught his direct attention. It was a fierce looking fox plushy. The fabric had etched pointy teeth on its mouth and its eyes were slanted in a ruby red. It was clearly a well done stuffed animal and likely a very expensive one at that.

“I’ll take...”, he said again, still focused on the fox. It was captivating. But Sasuke tried to imagine if he would honestly like looking at the demon like plush in his room every day. He already had one monster that lived there. A vampire is enough. “…the Pikachu please.” 

The man grabbed a cane and unhooked the yellow Pikachu. It was a pretty big stuffed animal but he liked how the yellow matched Naruto’s hair. Also, the string etched smile on its face was just as happy looking as the blond’s. 

“That’s a pretty cool one Sasuke! Hehe, it’s almost half your height.” And it was. Sasuke had to grab onto it with both hands so the tail wouldn’t hit the ground.

“So what was the secret?”

“Huh?”

“The secret to winning the ring toss game.” Sasuke reiterated. 

“Oh.” Naruto chuckled. “I was totally bluffing. I don’t know the secret. But somehow, it felt a lot easier to throw them when you said you believed in me. I guess it helped me believe I could do it too.”

“Ah,” Sasuke said, wanting to bury his face in the soft yellow fur for some reason. “What do you want to do now?” 

“Well”, Naruto began, looking over the crowd. “I’ve gotta take a wiz. You can walk around for a bit if you want. I’ll be able to find you.” he tapped his nose with a grin.

As Naruto walked off, Sasuke strolled through other parts of the fair they hadn’t quite gotten to yet. There were still a lot of laughing children running around but he noticed many couples walking around and holding hands. One little girl, holding a small Pikachu doll of her own, glanced at him with an openly shocked face, mouth forming an ‘o’. A clown with a big red wig was walking around charming the adults and frightening the kids. Sasuke grinned, people are so interesting.

His mouth watered when he caught the scent of the fried green tomatoes someone close to him was eating. He never in his life had a taste for anything besides blood. Naruto’s ruined him. A slight change of scent made him look around. It was a musky one, that smelled like nature and the woods. Just like a werewolf's.

Naruto wasn’t back yet. Of course, there was always a possibility of other mystical being coming to the fair but Sasuke never thought about encountering one on his own. He wasn’t scared or anything, but he really wished he had practiced some non physical techniques to ward off attacks. _Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!_ He looked down at the happy glass-eyed plushy. Yeah, that wasn’t going to work.

“Hey kid!,” A colorfully dressed man tapped his shoulder. 

“Huh?”

“Why don’t you come test your strength at the Hammer Game!” He said gesturing to an attraction that had a metal plate, a mallet, and a bell at the very top. There were certain levels of strength listed, supposedly for how strong a person was to make the bell raise. “It’s only one ticket, are you up for the challenge.”

“Old man!” There were already some older teens surrounding it, sneers on their faces. “We want to go again.”

“You guys have been hogging up the line for almost an hour. Let someone else have a try or go do something different!”

One of the guys profiled Sasuke, making the raven’s face scrunch with displeasure. “As if this little kid can actually do anything.”

“Yeah another joked, he’ll probably start crying as soon as he hits it.”

One of them, that tossed a cigarette the ground dug in his pocket, “That’s not fair guys, give him a chance.” He took out a ten dollar bill and waved it in his face. “If you swing hard enough to make the ball hit the bell, I’ll give you this.”

Sasuke frowned at him in distaste. What a bunch of jerks. Sasuke already knew he didn’t have to prove anything to them but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the pleasure of putting them in their place. Vampires are strong creatures and he knew that this wouldn’t remotely be an issue for him. Wordlessly, he handed the man his ticket and picked up the mallet after setting down Pikachu. He raised it up above his shoulders and swung down. 

“DIIIIINNnnnnnnngggg”, the bell rang, as it soared high into the air and across the fair. Sasuke groaned and gave himself a facepalm openly. Of course, the stupid thing would break! He meant for the ball to only tap the bell but it knocked it right off of the attraction. He must have used more strength than he thought. The manager of the game, as well as all the teens, looked up in utter shock as the bell flew away. Sasuke wasn’t sure if he should leave while they were distracted or stick around to take his bill. 

He was about to make up some lame excuse about a possible loose screw when he felt someone shoulder him, pushing him harshly to the side while the figure growled, “You moron.” 

Sasuke frowned again, getting tired of the boorish company. He sighed, picking up his animal and walking away from the scene to find Naruto. They ended up running into each other soon, both searching for the other. 

“Sasuke! You wouldn’t believe it, there was this lady demonstrating how to ride a horse and this metal thing came flying out of nowhere and spooked it. It turned into a rodeo haha. She actually was doing really good.”

“Oh.” Sasuke blinked. Well, at least no one got hurt? “Weird.”

“Hey do you want to race in that thing?” he gestured to a red and orange bouncy house athletic course. It was set up so that two people could enter on either side and make it through the obstacles to the finish line. 

Not really liking the idea being whacked around by puffy plastic, he told Naruto he might pass on this one.

“Aww, come on Sasuke! We need to make up for this morning. It won’t be that bad, it…”

Sasuke stopped listening when he saw a hooded figure start to hover behind Naruto. He narrowed his eyes, about to bark at the person to get lost but he called out the blond’s name first.

Naruto turned around with a big grin, “Kiba! Hey man.”

It was the same guy that rammed into him before! The raven scoffed, watching him with distrust when he and Naruto greeted each other by clasping hands. 

“I was looking for you all day.” He said, looking at Sasuke. “But I guess that explains it.”

Kiba was a bit taller than Naruto, sporting jeans and a graphic grey hoodie. He had shaggy brown hair with red decorative triangles on each cheek. Brown eyes looked over at him and he saw his nose twitch. “You’re a vampire,” he growled.

Sasuke could feel his fangs lengthen in his mouth and he let out in involuntary hiss.

“What? Oh! Hey, chill out you guys,” Naruto said, throwing an arm around Sasuke’s tense shoulders. “Sasuke, this is Kiba. He’s apart of my pack. I talk about you a lot. And Kiba, this is Sasuke, my best friend.” The two exchanged unfriendly looks, watching each other carefully.

“So what are you doing now, Naruto?” Kiba asked.

“Oh well, I was gonna race Sasuke in that thing but I don’t think he wants-” Sasuke cut him off. “No, I want to. Let’s do it.” Sasuke said, not even wanting the possibility of Kiba interfering.

“You’re sure? Awesome, well, let me ask that lady over there if it’s ok because I’m not wearing socks today.” He lifted his joggers off to show a bare ankle leading into his sports shoes. 

“That’s gross Naruto.”

“That’s what my mom says too when she catches me. Wait here,” he chuckled, jogging off to the attraction. It left Sasuke and Kiba alone in uncomfortable silence. The raven shifted his weight from foot to foot, still watching the brown eyes and the brown obsidian. 

“Aren’t you a little too old to be playing with dolls, vampire?” Kiba’s voice cut the air. He started to crowd into Sasuke’s space, looking down at him. Sasuke frowned, moving Pikachu to just one of his arms. 

“You’re under the impression that you can actually intimidate me. No matter how it is you like to imagine yourself, you’re still only a puppy.”

“Grrr, watch it!” he growled, raising a hand that started to grow pointed nails. Sasuke tensed, ready to move at a blink. After a few seconds though, he lowered his hand and stepped away.

“Hey, they said it’ll be okay Sasuke!” Naruto called, running back over to them. 

“Alright, I’ll go take off my shoes then. Kiba.” he acknowledged and walked away.

“Geez Kiba keep it cool. What’s wrong with you?” Naruto whispered, being close enough to have heard their exchange.

“I just don’t like him. He’s some haughty, show-off of a vampire. Plus, Naruto, you ditched our hang out with the pack for him!”

The blond rolled his eyes, “I see you guys every day. Can’t I spend one day without everyone on my back?”

“Sure but not. On. Pack. Days.” He reiterated each word with a poke of his finger on Naruto’s chest. Naruto grabbed it, finally letting his face drop into one of displeasure and letting his annoyance swarm in his voice.

“Stop. I don’t question you guys if you don’t show up so I expect the same for myself. And remember, I’m the alpha of the pack. So watch what you say about me and my friends.”

He could see Kiba’s form deflate a bit and when he let his hand go it rested back against his side. 

“You’re right, sorry.” He looked away to a different side of the fair. “Will you be there tomorrow? At our spot?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” He affirmed. Kiba turned away from him.

“Alright, I’m out of here. I’ll see you then.” 

Naruto walked to the float, a frown still on his lips but it disappeared with a giggle when he saw the pink of Sasuke’s cheeks. He was staring with concentration at the plain white of his socks.

“Hey, are you ready?”

Sasuke nodded, meeting his eyes. “I’m not going to hold back so give it all you’ve got too.” Naruto grinned and they bumped fists. Standing in front of either side of the opening of the obstacle, they started to count down. 

“Three. Two. One. Go!”

They dashed into the inflated obstacle course and move around all the inflated pockets of air that were in their way. Sasuke moved aside an air filled plastic cylinder only to get smacked in the face with one that popped out above him. The entire house was shaking in every which way, due to both his and Naruto’s quick movements. He lost his balance several times, bumping into either side of the walls before tripping and landing face first into the floor of bumpy plastic. 

Sasuke was surprised at how exhausting it was to make it through the course, but he pushed on, getting back on his feet. After crawling through a claustrophobic educing long cylinder he made it out to an open space that had a large air-filled climbing wall. He saw Naruto climb out of the cylindrical space adjacent to him. 

“Hehe, this is it Sasuke. Don’t tell me you’ve given up already?”

“Not a chance.” And they both raced to the wall, climbing up. It admittedly was pretty hard. The black cubes that were to simulate rocks were squishy and it was hard to keep balance every time he moved up. He wished he could use a little more strength when he pulled but he didn’t want to risk tearing them. Naruto was catching up to him, so he moved his foot to a cube on his left, and slipped. The sock of his foot slid easily on the fabric and because Sasuke had already moved his hands, ready to reach for more tiles above, he fell. 

He gasped as he went down, feeling his body knock into another. The fall wasn’t going to be long or hard for that matter, but Sasuke still closed his eyes, bracing for the impact. He felt two arms wrap around his waist and they collided with the bouncy floor, springing back a few feet away from the wall.

“Ugh, are you okay Naruto?” Sasuke asked the blond, who looked a little winded from landing with a body on top of his. 

“Yeah I’m good.” He said. Unwrapping his hands and standing back up. “but I’m not going to let you get ahead again. See you on the other side!”

By the time Sasuke got up Naruto was already climbing. Sasuke grabbed onto the black cubes again, trying to concentrate a bit better on how and where to place his feet and fingers. They were both panting from the anticipation and Sasuke struggled to go faster when Naruto reached the top, throwing the raven a wink and disappearing out of his view.

He clenched his teeth in concentration and forced his body to go quicker. There was just one more level. If he could just push his foot… And it slipped! Sasuke’s hands were already at the top so before he let the weight of his leg drag him down, he pressed down as hard as he dared of the squishy top and used the momentum to direct his legs up and over. The action cause for his whole body to make it over the lip of the wall but because there was a slide on the other side, it caused him to barrel roll down it. 

The sky and so many colors were flashing before his eyes as he rolled down the plastic. Time slowed for him, his body thrumming loudly with energy but his mind open to all of the excitement. He could spy Naruto almost to the bottom to his left and believed that he just might be able to catch him. When Sasuke reached the end of the course his speed caused him to fly off the house and land on the grass covered by a few people’s shoes. 

“Ugh,” Sasuke groaned, vision still spinning from the tumble and feeling the uncomfortable stab of the backs of shoes pressing into him.

The bright yellow of his blond headed friend caught his attention as he hopped off the obstacle course and passed the finish line. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. His hands wrapped around his stomach to try making the sudden pain of laughter go away. 

“Sa-Sasuke!” he laughed, “That had to be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You rolled down so fast I had to do a double take if that was actually you.” He reached out his hand to help Sasuke up. Through his dizziness, he grasped the hand and smirked.

“I won.” The raven announced. 

“Yeah, you sure did.” Chuckling, he put Sasuke’s arm over his shoulders and helped him walk back to retrieve their shoes and Sasuke’s Pikachu. “You did really great.”

The two spent another hour or so at the fair before deciding it was time to head back. They had ridden one last ride and Naruto bought Sasuke some more fried green tomatoes because he was just nice like that. 

Walking back into the quiet of the woods felt strange to Sasuke, after spending hours in the noisy field of Konoha, but it wasn’t unwelcomed. He allowed himself to relax a bit and Naruto changed back into his furry wolf form. He even let him rest Pikachu on his back when he complained he was getting tired of carrying it. 

“You don’t have to walk me home, you know? I live on the opposite side of the forest from where you do.”

“Yeeaah,” Naruto started. “I know, but I want to. Plus, I’m almost afraid of what your brother would do if I didn’t… No, definitely afraid.” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his pain of a brother and let his hand brush the soft fur of his companion. Eventually, they arrived at Sasuke’s manor in the dusk of night. Naruto tiptoed carefully in the territory he knew he normally wouldn’t be in and Sasuke strolled with leisure, actually feeling tired enough to fall asleep right away.

While Sasuke went to grab his plushy off of Naruto and stick it under his arm, Naruto just so happened to spy two red colored eyes watching his from the first floor window. He gulped, feeling his ear twitch in different directions. 

“Thanks for today Naruto, it was a lot of fun.” Sasuke gave him a true smile and hugged the warm creature around his sturdy neck and chest. 

At the closeness of Sasuke’s scent, Naruto’s tail started wagging and he let out a “No problem!”, licking at the boy’s cheek. “I was hoping your first time would be awesome. Everyone loves it there so I wanted you to get the chance to go yourself.”

When Sasuke let up the wolf added, “And I’ll be here to pick you up tomorrow too! If you’re not busy.” 

The raven blinked, “You will?”

“Yeah! I’ll be here the same time as today, okay? But bring a swimsuit if you have one. Goodnight Sasuke.” The wolf turned and dashed back into the forest, leaving a perplexed raven behind in his wake. 

A swimsuit? He wasn’t even really sure if he had one but decided to think about it in the morning. Today was pretty amazing. He hoped his dreams would be as sweet as the tomatoes and as warm as the ghost of a hand on his. 

Opening and closing the mansion door he yawned, ready to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to leave you guys on a bigger cliff hanger for the next chapter but even Sasuke and Naruto might have had enough of that, ba do do pshhh! 
> 
> Ok
> 
> As always, thank you again for reading! Leave kudos/comments if you liked it! (*＾▽＾)／ till next time.


	3. Deep Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with the next chapter! I'm thinking about raising the rating to teen bc of plot. You think it's gonna go one way then vroom, goes another. But this chapter was really fun to write so I hope you like it.
> 
> I also want to thank all of my lovely commenters and the people that leave me kudos!!!! (˃̥̥ω˂̥̥̥) It really keeps me inspired so thank you for that. 
> 
> Anyways, happy reading!

Sasuke’s dark eyes fluttered open as the brightness of day overpowered his restful sleep. He never closes his curtains, actually enjoying the gentle light on his face to wake him up most days. He got up with a yawn and shuffled to his dresser to put on some clothes. Recalling what Naruto said the previous day, he tried to look through his drawers for anything relatable to swimming. 

Sasuke knows how to swim; he’s alright at it. There’s a river not too far from his home where he would splash around if it were a hot day or his boredom drove him to sneak out of the house. He didn’t necessarily need a swimsuit for that though; there weren’t any other inhabitants in his side of the forest so he would just go as is.

It didn’t stop him from searching through his draws and old boxes in his closet just in case. He really needed more clothes, they were all starting to feel tighter. 

Giving up after the last box of baby clothes, he decided to go try his brother’s room. Maybe Itachi had a pair of trunks he could borrow. Opening his door, he was met with a dark hallway. Unlike himself, his family liked to be bathed in darkness. The only time any of the curtains in the house would open is if he did it himself. However, they would always find their way closed by the next day. Vampires are able to see really well at night though so it's not like it’s a problem for him.

He tiptoed down the hallway to Itachi’s room on the soft carpet, passing the dark gleam of hanging pictures and polished vases. He startled when he saw the figure of him mother leave the home library. She closed the door, looking at him with small smile and raised a hand to his cheek.

“Hello sweetie. You’re looking pale, when was the last time you fed?”

Sasuke was honestly surprised to see her awake. Both of his parents chose to be nocturnal, just due to the preference of moving with the night than the day. Itachi and him however, liked the light of the sun. It’s morning now though, his mom is usually well asleep by this hour. He spied an old red book clasped in her free hand.

“It was two days ago.” 

“You have to make sure you feed Sasuke.” She said, kissing his temple. “How else will you keep your strength? Go catch something. I’m off to sleep but have a good day.”

“I’ll hunt soon. Sleep well, mom.” He watched her walk down a different hallway to his parents' room and Sasuke continued to the end of his own. Itachi’s door was at the end and when he opened it he was also met by darkness. Thick curtains blocked his windows but his brother’s form was obvious underneath his grey comforters. Sasuke didn’t hesitate to poke it.

“Hey Itachi. Itachi, Itachi.” He poked the mound several more times but the figure never moved. He paused, deciding to walk towards the windows to let in the sunshine. His brother must not have been as optimistic as him with sunlight or was still very tired because his sleeping face quickly disappeared under the covers with a flick of his wrist. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and decided to search anyways. Itachi’s room was the most modern looking room in the house. He painted his walls dark purple and white and had a plush black carpet that felt soft under his feet. Instead of an old four-poster like Sasuke’s, Itachi had a tasteful black bed frame. Also, he had a plain white dresser and nightstands, unlike his old wooden uncolored ones from who knows how long ago.

Opening the first drawer, he shifted through different shirts and sweaters his brother owned. Only by the time he got to the fourth drawer, he found something related to swimming. It was a tiny speedo. He held the red fabric up to his face in horror. “What the hell,” he cursed, wondering why in the world his brother had one of these. There was no way he was going to wear this. 

He put the swim piece back and left out his brother’s room. He figured Naruto was going to take him to a water park. There probably was one not too far from Konoha. He would just have to tell Naruto to go without him. 

Kicking on some shoes he left the mansion to go hunt, finally feeling his hunger a little stronger now that his mother pointed it out. Sneaking into high bushes in the family’s territory he waited, letting his need to feed possess him. He felt his fangs drop and his irises bleed red. 

He could feel the thrum of the forest; there were many heartbeats in the area but he wanted the largest of them so he only had to feed once. Stalking quietly for a while, he stopped when he pinpointed a large deer. It was chewing on some blackberries and looking around carefully with its starry black eyes, ears twitching for the slightest sound of movement. 

Sasuke didn’t wait long, pouncing when the deer turned so he could tackle it on its side. They both fell, and Sasuke wrapped his arms and legs around its flailing torso to keep it steady. The struggle wasn’t in the slightest difficult and Sasuke soon let his fangs dip into the neck of the mammal, moaning at the warm liquid that quenched his senses. 

When he was done he let the head of the carcass fall to the ground. He always tried not to go after the predators in the area because they were the ones that would finish off the meat and bones of the animals he drank from. There were coyotes, foxes, and normal wolves that lived closely in the area so it was more than likely the deer would be found and eaten within a few hours.

By the time he got back in the house his brother was awake, eating some dango he had in a take-out box from the fridge. Sasuke watched him while moving around, opening the blinds in the living room and kitchen. “Are you sure you’re a vampire? Because all I ever see is you eating those things.”

“Of course I am Sasuke,” He said, biting off a green piece. “You know I don’t get any real substance from this. Now, what was it you were looking for in my room?”

“You would have known if you woke up.” He grumbled. “I was looking for swim trunks. I don’t have any so now I’m out of luck.”

“You didn’t see my speedo?”

“Yes! I saw it, why the heck do you even have that?!” Sasuke exclaimed. 

All Itachi did was shrug his shoulders, finishing his sweets.

The brothers squabbled for about a half hour more before they heard three quick raps on the door. Sasuke trotted over to it, smiling when it revealed the face of his friend. 

“Hey Sasuke! Are you ready to go?” The blond was sporting a stuffed orange backpack today, clearly having packed materials for the park, Sasuke thought.

“Actually I couldn’t find any trunks. I think you’re going to have to just go without me.” 

“Oh, don’t worry I brought and extra pair!”

Sasuke blinked with surprise, not expecting that. Leave it to Naruto to make things work out. “Okay.” Digging through his backpack, Naruto revealed a pair of green floral swim trunks. They looked I it would fit him.

“I’m sure that those will fit you.” Itachi added, peering behind his brother’s shoulders. Sasuke made a face at him.

“Thanks Naruto, I’ll go change now. Come with me, you can wait in my room.” Not really wanting to risk leaving him alone with his brother. He grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

“Are you sure Sasuke?” surprised at entering the house. He looked at Itachi who’s expression didn’t alter in the slightest as they walked by him. Sasuke took him to a set of stairs that led down a dark hall to his room.

Itachi didn’t bother to make a move from his spot near the doorway. He was paying special attention at how the inch difference in the boy’s height had disappeared. 

~~0~~0~~

“Wow, your room is so cool Sasuke! I feel like I stepped back in time hehe,” referring to his old furniture. Sasuke was dressing in the closet, putting the trunks on underneath his shorts so he wouldn’t have to change again when they got there. 

Naruto walked around, noticing the Pikachu from yesterday sitting on a tall dresser and a small picture frame at the side of his bed. Curiously, Naruto picked up the frame and looked inside. It was of the two of them during Christmas time! “Aww you still have this?!” he said, smiling fondly at it. Naruto was grinning and Sasuke looked at the camera with a blush. They were so cute back then. He set it down, “Best day ever.” He affirmed.

Sasuke finished, coming out of the closet with a focused expression. Although his parents would ordinarily be asleep by now, there was no way they couldn’t sense Naruto’s presence in their home. He didn’t want to push it anymore then he already has. They finally just started to ease up about him going out, he didn’t want to cross lines any further. “Let’s go.”

Naruto told him that the trip would be a long one so they moved at a brisk pace through the forest. They were running beside each other in a way that felt so natural. They moved with eased synchronization; jumping over logs, streams, and foliage. They passed over Konoha to Sasuke’s surprise; he’d never been so far east before. They passed pretty close to Naruto’s families territory too; saying it was only a little further south from where they were. The rich dirt eventually started to dry the further they went and the air changed too, taking on a salty scent. They knew they were there when the trees parted to show a wide blue ocean.

Sasuke paused, taking it all in with a look of wonder. He had seen pictures of the ocean before but never had he seen it with his own two eyes. The sky was a clear blue and it reflected beautifully on the water, showing light and dark turquoise patches the further it went. The sand was a light tan color and the waves shinned bright white as they made their way to the shore. The breeze of the ocean was inviting, making his hair dance around his face and pull him closer. Naruto had run forward, going to the ocean’s lip and rolled around happily in the water. Sasuke laughed at his antics but soon started shouting with displeasure as the wolf ran up to him and shook all the water out of his coat. 

“Stop Naruto! Ugh, that’s not funny.” After changing out of his other form, the blond boy started laughing at him with good nature. 

“Hehe chill out Sasuke, we’re about to hop in soon anyway. Follow me!” They walked along the shoreline to reach a section of the ocean that was a deep blue. Ahead of them sat a high cliff and below it were several figures.

“Who are those guys?” he asked Naruto.

“That’s my pack. Remember Kiba yesterday?” 

How could he forget? Sasuke nodded saying, “Yeah.”

“Well, there’re more than just him. There’re six of us, and we just hang out and stuff. This is our favorite spot.” 

Naruto had explained his family situation a long time ago. Apparently, Naruto’s father was the head alpha of there entire werewolf community. There wasn’t anything Naruto wanted more to take his place one day but he had to prove it, gaining the certainty of others and trust of the whole pack.

“It’s not unusual for smaller sub packs to form, especially for certain age groups.” He continued. “They say it helps the younger wolves to learn about teamwork and all that stuff. We’re all close to the same age, so I’ve practically been growing up with these guys. They’re pretty good friends.” 

“And you’re the alpha.” Sasuke confirmed.

“You got it!” he said with a wink. “But being alpha in our group has nothing on my dad. But you need a leader anyways to help a pack stay together.”

When they got close enough to catch all of their attention, every eye turned to Sasuke. He could clearly see Kiba’s glare but the other’s expressions ranged from indifference to suspicion. 

“Hey guys!” Naruto waved, “I want to introduce you to Sasuke. Sasuke that’s Ino, Shino, Shikamaru, you already met Kiba, and Choji.”

“Hey,” he greeted, getting only a few back in return.

“He’s hanging out with me today so be cool.” He said with a pointed look. 

Sasuke felt himself blush in slight embarrassment. He felt like a little kid with the guardian telling the other kids to play nice. It was clear the majority weren’t exactly thrilled at the idea of him being here; Sasuke wasn’t too sure himself why Naruto thought it would be a good idea to let him mix with other werewolves. But they had to be good if they were his friends, right?

“Okay! Let’s get in the water already I’m cooking up.” The bleach blonde haired girl named Ino said, sporting a white bikini set that was shaped like seashells. The others agreed, walking up the cliff together. Naruto started to shuffle off his shirt and shorts to reveal his own swim trunks and Sasuke did the same. They tossed their clothes where Naruto set his backpack and followed.

“We usually go cliff diving when we meet up. It’s like, tradition.” Naruto whispered to him. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to but it’s pretty fun.” 

“Whoo!” the girl shouted, running off the edge of the cliff and backflipping into the water. 

“Nice one Ino!” Naruto yelled down. “Here goes!” the second blond ran off, doing an array of flips of his own and hitting the water with perfect dive formation. 

Sasuke could hardly believe that they could dive so well. That wasn’t something you just picked up on a whim he thought. He gulped when the line shifted and suddenly it was his turn. Heights again. Remember, he wasn’t scared or anything, but my gosh that was a huge huge drop to the-

“Too slow! Just go already!” 

Sasuke felt two hands on his back push him forward and his feet released their position on the ground. He was falling! The air whipped his face and he felt his body flail in every which direction, unable to steady himself. When he spied the water approaching closer he brought his arm up to his face, bracing for impact. 

When he hit the water it swallowed him whole. The cool rush of liquid blew his hair back and made his trunks puff up around his waist. Sasuke didn’t move his arm or open his eyes until he slowed down from the quick speed of his decent and was met by a dark blue world.

When he sank all the way to the bottom, Sasuke let his knees touch the soft sand and he looked up at the sparkling white surface. He would have never imagined that’s how the surface looked from underwater. It was beautiful, imitating the same sparkles on the ocean floor and on his skin. Fish swam by him in flashing schools and Sasuke spied a few lobsters crawling to catch the ones that wandered too low. Getting on his feet, Sasuke tried to walk, smiling as the density of the water made him move in slow motion. 

He appreciated the heavier weight of the ocean on his body. The change of gravity was interesting; like nothing he had experienced before. Sasuke laughed, air bubbles escaping his lips as he tried to use his angle his body to make his legs go faster. 

On the surface, Naruto was growing with worry. He saw the push. While a huge part of him was furious, particularly his wolf that was growling with viciousness of the act by his pack member, the majority of what Naruto was feeling was worry. He was already back on shore, looking at the spot where Sasuke landed. He hadn’t resurfaced yet and it already had been about a minute. He actually never asked Sasuke if he knew how to swim, he just assumed! The raven haired vampire also didn’t have anything to swim in, that should have been an indication right there. 

Naruto felt like beating himself up, this hadn’t been a good idea at all. He anxiously watched the surface. The waves were rocking as per usual towards the shore but when he spied a few random bubbles surface he assumed it was Sasuke. It had been more than a minute now and Naruto wasn’t going to wait any longer. He ran as fast as his feet would let him on the sand before diving in the water and swimming down. 

The water looked helplessly dark below and Naruto couldn’t find any sight of his friend. When he ran out of breath he was forced to go to the surface. “Sasuke!” he yelled. It was unlikely the raven would hear him under the water but his worry made him think less rationally. “Sasuke!” he dove back down.

A few quick glimmers of light color caught his attention to his left. He saw the pale arm of his friend sway in the water and Naruto was there in an instant, grabbing onto it and dragging the body up to the surface. When they got to the top, Naruto took a deep breath. 

“Sasuke! Are you alright?” Naruto asked, dragging him to the beach. 

“Yeah…” Sasuke coughed, feeling air enter his lungs again.

When they got close enough for their feet to touch the ground, Naruto picked him up and carried him fully on to shore. Sasuke felt his body being set on the warm dry sand and he knocked Naruto’s hands away when they tried to press down insistently on his chest.

“Stop Sasuke! I need to help you!” He growled, grabbing the two pale hands and holding them high above the raven’s head. Sasuke eyes widened, looking at the furrowed brows and panting mouth face in front of him. Naruto’s whole body was shaking with nerves. His whiskered face had droplets running down; either from tears or the water Sasuke couldn’t tell, but he wanted to brush them away. 

“Naruto, my lungs are fine. I’m fine, I’m right here.”

“Sasuke you…” Naruto huffed a breath, setting his head down on the raven’s pale chest. “You’re fine... I thought you had drowned, Sasuke.”

“Naruto,” he wiggled his hands out the softening grip and cupped the whiskered cheeks. There were tears in the blue eyes this time and Sasuke bit his lips in regret for staying down so long. “Vampires don’t have to breathe, it’s a choice. I wasn’t in any danger; I was just exploring the floor.”

And it was true. Sasuke was having a good time at the bottom. There was so much to see, sea shells, lost items, colorful fish and crustaceans. The time passed in the blink of an eye. He hadn’t even spared his friend at the surface a thought. 

“You… you guys don’t have to breath?” asked with surprise. He was learning more and more stuff about Sasuke and his race every day but man he wished that was information that he had gotten a little earlier. He set his head back on the chest with a groan. “Why do you do it then?”

“Oh, well, it just feels natural to me. Breathing is like a form of expression too if you think about it.” He showed his frustration with sighs, hummed when he was thinking, and he had to have air in his lungs in order to talk, obviously. Getting liquid in the lungs though had about equally the same effect for them as any other mammal. He had felt the burn when he had breathed wrong while drinking blood once. He had almost coughed the whole lung up at the sensation.

“But I’m okay.” He said, patting the damp hair. He startled when Naruto started shaking harder than before. The blonde lifted his own head this time, meeting Sasuke with slited red eyes. 

“I’m going to strangle that moron. I can’t believe he did that to you!” Naruto hopped up quickly, already spotting Kiba and the others splashing around in the ocean in a red haze. Sasuke was quick to grab onto his ankle before he sprinted off. 

“It’s okay Naruto, really. I don’t really care, I was taking a long time.”

“I don’t care how long it took! He shouldn’t have pushed you!” His wolf was itching to put his pack mate in his place. He could feel his nails and teeth elongating quickly, urging him to move forward. But every other step he took he was dragging a skinny raven haired vampire behind him.

“Just calm down Naruto!” Personally, Sasuke was pretty miffed at Kiba’s action but he didn’t want to be the cause of a rift in their pack. He was starting to understand how special and fragile bonds could be. Sasuke shouldn’t have even been here today. Sasuke felt like an intruder on a personal event and he was sure Kiba was feeling the exact same way. 

“It really doesn’t bother me! I didn’t get hurt remember? No harm, no foul.” His insistence seemed to calm the blond down gradually. He came to a stop and Sasuke saw his eyes turn back into their sky blue from the angry red with relief. He had never seen Naruto pushed to such an extent that his eyes actually changed. It happens to Sasuke all the time when he feeds but somehow it was unnerving to see it happen to Naruto. The pointed nails receded and while he couldn’t see his teeth with the tight lipped expression the blond as making, he was sure they did too.

“Let’s just have a fun day, okay?” 

The blond was silent for a moment but nodded, helping his friend to stand. 

“Okay cool!” Sasuke said, trying to make his voice sound chipper but he felt it sounded weird coming out his throat. He tried desperately to find something that would draw Naruto’s focused eyes away from his brown skinned pack mate. “Umm. Oh! So what else did you bring with you in the bag Naruto?” he bleated, spotting the orange back he discarded in the sand. 

The blond blinked, refocusing his attention. “I brought some body boards. It’s pretty fun, do you want to try it?”

“Yes!” he nodded a few times for good measure. Walking on the shore to get to the bag, Sasuke started sweating. It was pretty hot on the surface compared to when he was in the water. Naruto zipped open the bag to ease out the already visible body boards, handing Sasuke one that had a cool grey design. 

“Oh!” Naruto exclaimed, getting a better look in the bag after he cleared the boards. He pulled out a bottle of sunblock and turned to Sasuke with a grin. “I got this just for you! Don’t want to push your genetics with the sun anymore than normal from being out here.”

While vampires don’t burn to crisps in the sun anymore, it doesn’t mean they aren’t susceptible to sunburns. They are even more so than humans in fact. Sasuke jumped with a gasp as Naruto rubbed the cold liquid over his back.

“I-I can do it myself Naruto.” He stammered. 

“Don’t be silly, nobody can reach all of their back. Here, rub this on your arms and legs too,” He said, pouring a generous amount in Sasuke’s palm.

The two lathered down to protect their skin from the suns harmful rays. Sasuke even rubbed it in on the blond’s back too, trying to keep his own nerves cool. They waded out when they were done. The waves splashed, trying to push them backward the further inwards they went. Sasuke struggled with them, finding it harder to go out than it was going back. The waves grew even larger and Sasuke was getting splashed with water in his face and mouth. 

“Hop on your board Sasuke.”

Sasuke copied Naruto when he laid his body across the board and held on to the top. It was easier to manage the waves like this. He was riding over them this time instead of being knocked around.

When Naruto couldn’t feel sand under his feet anymore he turned a smile to Sasuke. “Ok! So we just need to wait here for a big wave now. When there’s a good one, turn to shore and kick off. The wave will carry you back.” Sasuke nodded, gripping his board a little tighter.

They only had to wait a few seconds for a nice one to come. “Okay this is it! Get ready.”

They turned and kicked in sync. Sasuke felt the wave all around his body, the only thing not covered was his face. It felt like a rush of bubbles were tickling his neck, shoulders and arms. It lifted his board up a few inches off the water to his amazement. They rushed forward quickly towards the shore, feeling the encasing water’s push. It felt like he was flying. A bright smile decorated his face and he looked at Naruto’s happy watching face. “This is so cool!”

The were deposited on the warm sand with the smaller waves licking their legs. Sasuke started cracking up. This was just as thrilling as the roller coaster but in its own way. He loved the feeling, he wished he could have done this sooner. He suddenly felt a rush of affection for his friend. It was really nice of him to take it upon himself to show Sasuke all of the things he never got to experience before. 

He honestly felt he would have been frozen in time if he hadn’t met the blond. Everything used to be black and white for him but Naruto added a shocking blast of colors in his life. And he didn’t have to. Sasuke knew he could be difficult sometimes, knew with all certainty that his family was, and knew the risk Naruto was willing to dance with for even being his friend but the blond still stayed. He couldn’t even believe he met someone as kind and selfless as Naruto. He really was lucky. He hoped it stayed like this forever. 

He reached out a pale hand to grip a tan shoulder with a tenderness. “That was a lot of fun Naruto. Thank you for bringing me here with you.” 

“No problem!” Naruto said, a shade of pink dusting his cheeks with the sincerity of Sasuke’s words. “Do you want to do it again?”

“Yeah!”

~0~0~0~

They spent a few hours body surfing the waves with practice. At some point, Naruto swam over to some of his pack mates to play a little water volleyball. He tried to entice the raven to join but Sasuke insisted he wanted to explore the ocean a little more. He didn’t want to disrupt their bonding thing either. 

He went back to the shore, applying more sunscreen on his body, and walked along the sand. He messed with the sand crabs he saw, turning their shells around to examine them closely. The seagulls even looked prettier, brighter than the ones in the city. 

As much as there was to see, there was so much more to feel. Closing his eyes, he appreciated the natural ocean breeze moving around him and the small waves that licked his toes. He could feel the thrum of the ocean in his body from the hours he spent with it. It was an incredible feeling. 

Opening his eyes, he spied Kiba’s figure leaning against a grey rock, watching him. He must not have felt like playing volleyball. Sasuke wandered over to him, taking note of the same unfriendly expression on his face as he had the previous day. 

“Hey, what’s your problem man?” he asked, wanted to get his issues out on the table.

“My problem's that I don’t like you.” He growled. 

“You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t have to! I know your kind. You’re nothing but one of those nasty bloodsucking demons and I don’t know what Naruto’s thinking hanging around with you.” He said, standing from his perch to circle around the raven. 

Sasuke watched him carefully, not moving outside of tensing his muscles. “That’s a little closed minded, don’t you think?”

“I don’t.” He said, getting up in Sasuke’s face. “There are rules about stuff like this. We’re natural sworn enemies. You’re not supposed to be anywhere near us! And here come’s Naruto, bring you here like this is some grade school field trip.” He said circling again. “This is bigger than that, vampire. You’re intruding and I don’t like it.”

Sasuke wasn’t really sure what to say because he partially agreed with the angry werewolf. But he wanted to trust Naruto’s judgment. “Naruto’s your alpha and if he thinks it’s okay, you shouldn’t have to worry about it.” Kiba scoffed at that. 

“Whatever. We’ll see how long that’ll last.” The boy turned away from him with crossed arms, stalking in another direction. Sasuke let his shoulders drop their tension and let out a sigh. He was glad nothing bad happened from the altercation but the boy's parting words left him with an unpleasant feeling. And the comments about his race and its incompatibility with theirs…he was angry to admit that the actually made him feel small. He couldn’t help what he was. He couldn’t help history and tradition. Even his family, while they seemed to tolerate Naruto, were never particularly fond of werewolves based off of what he’s heard them say. 

He knew that he and Naruto weren’t supposed to be friends, that their friendship was a paradox of their species themselves but Sasuke always felt better than a vampire when he was with Naruto. And he looked to Naruto as someone greater than a werewolf. They were more important than their race. 

Sasuke walked the beach, a little more glum than before, but perked up when he heard his name being called by the blond. Apparently, the game had ended.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, running out of the water to greet him. “We should race to that island over there.” He pointed to a small sandy surface that was only partially connected to the shore by a line of light blue water that curved into the ocean like an arm. “It’s not too far away and there aren’t any strong currents so it’s perfect. Let’s see who’s the better swimmer.” 

Sasuke grinned at the challenge and set his feet in the sand ready to kick off. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Go!”

The two sprinted from the shore to the water, kicking up sand and water in their speed. Sasuke found he couldn’t move as quickly as he would have like. Naruto had a really nice stroke going. His back muscles tensed and relaxed as he swam forward. Sasuke just couldn’t get the proper motions under control. When he went swimming, all he did was dog paddle and tread but those don’t get you anywhere quickly. He was losing the race steadily the further away they went from the shore so he had to think fast. He couldn’t get his arms and torso to do the movements but he bet he could imitate Naruto’s kick.

Setting his face in the water, Sasuke let his legs float up to the top before kicking with all his might. He could feel the speed now! He propelled forward, trying to make up the lost time. The only problem was he couldn’t really tell which direction he was supposed to go in. He had to stick his head up several times to make sure he didn’t veer off path. By the time he reached the island though, Naruto was already sitting in the sand with a satisfied expression. 

“Looks like I won this one~” he laughed. “What kind of technique was that? You have to learn how to swim the normal way.”

“Yeah yeah,” Sasuke dismissed, lying down beside him. “I’ll learn it eventually.”

“I can teach you, you know? Let’s do it now!”

Sasuke, a little tuckered out from the swim only wanted to lay on the beach for a little while. But Naruto was insistent, poking the raven’s legs with feet to urge him up. He eventually got up with a groan.

Naruto taught him the correct strokes in the shallow part of the water. He gripped onto the raven’s waist as he made him go through the motions of turning his shoulders and arms forward to push water behind him. He made him turn his face every few strokes too so he could breathe, despite the raven reminding him that it wasn’t really necessary for him. Sasuke got it down quickly. He was happy when he got a break.

They could feel the tide gradually start to change. It was ebbing away at the little island, making it that much smaller as the sun began to find its spot in the sky to begin descending. They agreed to swim back to the main part of the beach but the pair both paused when they heard a voice. It was light, dancing in the air in a pleasant way that reminded Sasuke of music. Past the shallows, they looked to a protruding grey rock. Behind it sat a beautiful mermaid. She had flowing long blond hair and eyes bluer than the sea. A sparkling blue tail peeked out of the water every now and then.

“Hello,” she called, a friendly smile on her lips. 

Both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her in shock. As many times as Naruto swam to this little island, he had never seen a mermaid before! His mouth was open in shock, Sasuke blinked in surprise, never having seen one himself.

She was hiding shyly behind a rock, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “Hello,” she said again. “Can you help me?”

“Hi” Naruto called out tentatively. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m lost.” a look of worry crossed over her beautiful face and Sasuke started to frown. A mermaid got lost in the ocean? 

“Can you help me?”

“Yeah!” Naruto said swimming a little closer.

“Where is it you’re looking-?” Sasuke cut him off.

“How does a mermaid get lost in the ocean?” Sasuke grilled suspiciously, glaring in her direction. Sasuke supposed it was possible to get lost. He could get lost on land. But something in his gut was telling him the situation was fishy.

“Sasuke! Be nice, she’s obviously scared and confused.”

The mermaid was still making that suckering face of sadness but he wasn’t falling for it. Sasuke’s fangs started lengthening with instinct. “Naruto, get away from her.”

“Come on. If it were you, wouldn’t you want to be helped?” He said, swimming even closer. 

Sasuke let his own eyes flash red, tucking into his family’s special eyesight ability, one of the very few techniques he could do without problem. His vision sharpened and looked through the mirage. He could see right through her disguise; the beautiful face of the girl was in actuality a ghastly looking skeleton. The rock was a mirage too; a large bony hand waited to catch its prey the closer Naruto went. Sasuke should have known from her singsongy voice.

“Naruto stop! It’s a siren!”

“What?” he said confused, turning to glance at Sasuke as he set his hand on the nonexistent rock. The bony hand clasped onto him and the siren let out a terrifying shriek, dragging them both under the water. Sasuke didn’t hesitate to dive down, chasing after them quickly. 

He could see Naruto trying to break out of her grip as she dragged him further under. When Sasuke was close enough, he held onto a rib. He tried to kick the creature but the water’s density was making it impossible for him to inflict any damage. A boney tail swooshed up, trying to smack into him but he moved just in time. He used his sharp teeth instead to break one of the arm bones holding onto Naruto. It shattered in pieces.

Naruto used his newly freed hand to snap the other skeleton’s arm too, freeing his other hand. He squeezed as hard as he could. His strength was more powerful than the marrow. The siren screeched again underwater. It was so prominent it made both the vampire and werewolf feel dizzy but to their relief, they saw it retreat away from them. It didn’t want to risk losing any more appendages. 

The two boys were quick to make it back to the surface and they swam as fast as they could to the main part of the beach. 

“So, that’s a siren huh. Why was it so close to shore?! I thought they lived in the middle of the ocean or the Bermuda triangle or something!!” Naruto exclaimed, looking to the raven as they swam.

But Sasuke didn’t know, he wasn’t some magical monster expert! He didn’t even know they actually existed until the encounter.

Naruto was cracking up by the time the tide helped push them back onto the beach, both laying on the sand in exhaustion. But Sasuke didn’t find it too funny at all. If he wasn’t there the dobe would have disappeared into the inky depths of the ocean forever. 

“Dobe,” Sasuke growled. “Try to use your head more next time.”

“Okay okay, I will. Promise.” Naruto laughed, finally calming down a bit. “Thanks for having my back though Sasuke. That was surprising. Man the guys will never believe it when we tell them.”

Glancing around, it was noticeable that the rest of the pack had already left. All their bags were picked up and gone.

“Huh, weird.” Naruto sighed, looking at the sky. It was starting to change into deep orange, his favorite color. He took a deep breath of the salty air and looked at Sasuke, giggling when he saw the raven’s watching face. 

“Hey did you even put sunblock on your face, because it’s really red.”

Sasuke’s eyebrows rose in alarm, wishing he had a mirror. He sure had forgotten to lather his face. He could just picture his brother now; he would either laugh at his pink face in amusement or be overly dramatic with concern. He allowed Naruto to poke at it, it didn’t hurt.

Every time Naruto pressed a finger to his forehead, a little white mark would appear, eventually turning back into pink. He took three fingers on each hand and ran them across his cheeks. He giggled, “Now you look like me! You have little whiskers hehe.”

Sasuke smiled at his antics and let him mess around until the sunset to a point where they knew it was time to leave. Naruto repacked his bag and they both redressed, leaving the same way to the tree’s to get back home. 

They went much slower on their travel back, both tired from the day of activities. Sasuke was hoping he would get back before his parents woke up so they wouldn’t make a fuss. He was quite honestly ready to knock out in sleep when he got back and telling by the less bouncy nature of his friend as he moved on his paws, he could tell he was too. 

The sun had just set low enough to cast red light on the trees when the boys noticed that their path was blocked. In front of them stood Naruto’s pack. The five were all in their wolf forms and started to circle around them, caging them in. Their tails were held high and their ears were set forwards. In the middle stood a large brown wolf with sharp looking teeth.

Besides him, Naruto started to growl. “What are you doing Kiba?”

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you Naruto.” He hunched low on his paws and his face twisted into a feral sneer. “And I’m not waiting one more day to settle it.” There was a loud rumble of a growl and the brown wolf let his teeth bare themselves to the pair. 

All in an instant, he pounced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you guys think and please leave kudos if you liked~ (´∀｀)♡


	4. Blood

Naruto didn’t hesitate to meet the lunge, hopping in front of Sasuke to clash teeth and scratch fur with his opponent. The sound of the growls were as loud as thunder and Sasuke had to move before he was trampled in their struggle. The resonating howls of the other werewolves sounded out. Sasuke tensed, taking notice at how they were slowly approaching him with snapping jaws. 

He dodged to the side as a grey wolf darted to knock him down. Another caught his arm, bringing him down to the ground but he swept his leg up and effectively knocked the head away.

His eyes turned red, fangs poking out as he let out a hiss and got back on his feet. He could hear all of their heartbeats, going fast in anticipation. 

There was no doubt in his mind that he could handle at least two of the werewolves but four would be a struggle. His father had told him once before that if a vampire got surrounded by a group of werewolves, that’s pretty much it for him or her. Vampires are very strong creatures but so are werewolves. The raven knew that every one of the werewolves here are still young so their strength isn’t at the highest possible peek but that doesn’t label them as any less dangerous. Werewolves are stronger in packs and Sasuke is definitely at a disadvantage. It would be better if he were well practiced in jutsu but he honestly couldn’t hold a word to his name. And for that reason, that’s what going to get him killed. 

Two wolves came out at him on opposite sides. He moved stealthily, using one of his legs to swipe at two grey paws, effectively knocking it down and he elbowed the other in his face. He wasn’t fast enough to move the elbow back though because in a second teeth clamped into his arm, sinking in. He yelled out in pain, bringing his foot up to kick the wolf in his chest, winding it enough to let him go.

“Sasuke!” Naruto exclaimed. The blond wolf was clearly occupied fighting, having spots of red blood spatter his blond coat and an intensely fierce expression on his wolf’s face. “You guys, leave him alone!”

The raven didn’t think they were listening though. Three others lunged this time. He was able to knock two away but the third grabbed onto his side, biting down hard. He cried out in pain but the angle left him perfect access to the wolfs neck. He didn’t hesitate to bite down into the flesh, hearing the yelp underneath him. Sasuke didn’t want to do too much damage. He didn’t want to rip the throat out because taking a life of a common animal was one thing but to take it away from a complex being… one that even used to be a friend of Naruto, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Looking at the snarling faces, he wasn’t so sure if the other werewolves felt the same way.

The wolf let go, wriggling away harshly to dislodge Sasuke’s fangs and Sasuke hissed at the feeling, using a hand to cover the bloodied wound. This was nothing like struggling with a deer. When the wolves came at him it was with aggression to fight, not flee. He didn’t have the proper training for this, he wasn’t ready.

Spotting a nearby maple tree, he dashed. That would be a perfect spot he could wait and be out of the werewolves’ range. His arm was bloodied from where it was bitten earlier and his side throbbed in excruciating pain. It made his movements feel sluggish as he climbed. His vision started to shift in dizziness, he was losing too much blood. He reached his hand up, seeing three versions of the same branch as he tried to grab ahold of it. He missed, picking the wrong one, and in his slowed movements a large white wolf hopped up, just catching his foot in a tight bite to drag him back down to the ground. Another caught his bicep, pulling backward, they were stretching this body, trying to tear him apart. 

Sasuke struggled, trying to free himself from the grips but to no avail. The wolf on his arm pulled back; Sasuke hoped that his arm wouldn’t come out of his socket and he yelled in pain the harder it tugged. Right before he thought his arm was going to dislocate, the wolf let go and was knocked to the side. Naruto had come rushing in and was rolling on the ground with his attacker in a scuffle. 

Sasuke turned his head looking for the brown wolf Kiba. He was on the ground but started to stand himself up on wobbly paws. Seeing Naruto occupied and Sasuke vulnerable he pounced. Sasuke was quick enough to grab onto two jaws approaching his face. He felt sharp teeth sink into his hands and he yelled out in pain, trying to keep them from closing around his neck. 

The forced Kiba used was strong, pushing forward while Sasuke pushed back, trying to close his muzzled that Sasuke was determined to keep open. He could feel the hot pants of breath on his face, drool rolling down his wrists and dark eyes stared into his red. If only he could perform genjustu like his brother with his eyes- the mouth pushed a few centimeters closed- he would be able to entrap the wolf- teeth sunk further into his flesh, making his hands wobble in their grip- so he’d be able to reach Naruto and get out of here.

The blond wolf came back, tackling the brown one to the ground and biting at fur hidden skin. He let up when he heard the other whine in pain and Naruto was quick to stand his body over Sasuke’s, growling at the others before they approached the vampire again. 

Howls started to resonate the air. Circling them again the howls called out in goading tones and Kiba stood back up, confronting Naruto but the blond refused to move from his spot. Naruto was stronger than Kiba and they both knew it, but the pack was on the brown wolf’s side now. He couldn’t make Kiba yield if he had to stop the rest of the pack from getting to Sasuke. The brown wolf snapped his jaws, enticing Naruto for another scuffle but the blonde refused to lift one paw from where he was standing.

“Che, figures,” Kiba growled, lifting his head high and preened in the refusal of the challenge. “Looks like you’re all out of options. What are you going to do?”

Naruto was silent, refusing to move a single muscle as he glared at the other. He knew what he wanted. Kiba wanted him to present his neck but he wasn’t going to do it. He at least had the option to say no.

“Fine.” he spat. “This is it, you’re out of the pack! You can go hang out with all the bloodsuckers you want. Your reign has ended.”

Something shifted. There was energy within the bonds that connected all members to the pack. Naruto could literally feel it running within his body, a subconscious part of his wolf and an important part of his being. At Kiba’s words and his failure to beat him, refusal to submit, he could feel the bond of his small pack die away from him. Not only was he stripped of his Alpha title, he was stripped of his bond with his pack.

He shuddered at the feeling. The other wolves finally receded in the woods, following Kiba after the brown wolf left the two. They could still hear their barks and howls, announcing the new change in their pack and somewhere inside Naruto felt hallow. 

He was relieved though when they finally left, looking down so he could tend to his friend but he immediately cried out when he observed his condition. 

Sasuke was badly torn up. His hands were completely bloodied, puncture wounds going through on either side. His arms and shoulders were littered with deep bite wounds and his right foot was twisted in an odd direction. The bite wound on Sasuke’s side was bleeding professedly and Naruto was quick to change back into his human form to apply pressure to it. 

“Oh no, Sasuke.” He breathed, taking a look at two midnight black eyes that were on the verge of closing. “Sasuke! You need to stay awake, stay with me!” 

“N-naruto.” Sasuke groaned, ignoring his own pain to observe the blond before him. He had deep scratches on his face and there was blood bleeding through his shirt. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” he exploded, looking a complete wreck. There was concern, sadness, frustration, and desperation painted on his face. Sasuke’s wounds were extensive. He doubted he would be able to stand and walk and the wound on his side would literally kill him if he allowed for any more blood to bleed out. Naruto stripped out of his shirt and did his best to tie it around Sasuke’s torso, gritting his teeth in the process. He felt pure agony for Sasuke’s condition. 

Naruto couldn’t help but feel shame in his heart. Sasuke’s condition was all his fault; he wasn’t strong enough to protect him. Sasuke was his responsibility. The raven trusted him enough to guide him, to have him stray away far from his home and even in the company of his natural sworn enemies because he believed he was safe with him. He trusted Naruto’s judgment but in the end, the raven’s confidence was misplaced. What kind of alpha was he if he couldn’t keep his pack together and what kind of friend is he to have allowed Sasuke to be placed in such a position? How could he become the leader of his whole community one day if he couldn’t even protect one friend?

There were streams of tears pouring out of his blue eyes now. He felt such an immense guilt for letting Sasuke get hurt; this was the third time today he let the raven’s life be in danger. His hands were shaking so badly when he tried to tie the knot around Sasuke’s side that he couldn’t even finish it until a bloody hand placed itself on top of his, shocking him to his core. 

“Calm down Naruto, this isn’t your fault.” Sasuke breathed. “There’s no way you could have known this would have happened. I should have been able to hold my own but I’m not as strong as I should be. I should have been able to help you too.”

Sasuke was beyond frustrated at his inability to defend himself as well as he should. If he were better practiced with fighting in ways that were non-physical, the outcome may have ended differently than what they experienced. Sasuke knew that the only reason that Naruto lost was because he chose to defend him rather than to defend his title. He felt bad for making him choose.

Sasuke’s head started to pound. He felt very light headed from the blood loss, he wouldn’t be able to remain conscious for too much longer. “Naruto, you have to take me home.”

The blond nodded, wiping his tears and changing back into a wolf. He laid his body down on the ground and nosed at Sasuke, encouraging the raven to roll on top of his back. “I’ll carry you. Just try to hold on if you can.”

Sasuke maneuvered his body so that both his legs were on either side of the wolf. His red hands left stains on the blonde fur where he placed them around his neck, trying his best to keep a faint grip. Naruto lifted himself up, cautious of the new weight, and started running as fast as he could through the forest.

Sasuke rested his face on top of the neck and head of his friend. It was so warm, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep away. His body was battered but despite that, he knew that Naruto could get him home safely. He didn’t feel the need to keep his guard up any longer and he wanted nothing more than for the pull in the back of his mind to drag him down so he could rest in its inky depths.

But he made his eyes stay open, knowing that Naruto would be in a greater panic if Sasuke slept. He let his mind wander to the wolves that they just fought against. He could understand them not trusting Sasuke; it was likely their first time encountering a vampire before and they probably were told to be wary of them, just how he was told to be wary of werewolves. But in the end, they rejected Naruto too and Naruto had even called them his friends. The thought irritated him and he wanted to make some gibing comment of ‘oh, what good friends you have’, but decided against it, knowing that the rejection was likely more painful for Naruto than what it seemed. 

He just pressed his face into the fur and breathed, hoping they would make it back quickly.

They eventually arrived in Sasuke’s neck of the woods. Naruto didn’t even hesitate crossing the territory border and rushed as quickly as he could to the front door of the manor. Inside, the Uchiha sensed them coming. The eldest two members, Mikoto and Fugaku, always had a very conscious awareness of their grounds and what wandered in and out of it, despite what their son thought when he ‘snuck out’. That’s what happens when you live in an area for a few centuries; they knew the land like the back of their hand and knew when there was a disturbance within it. 

Something was coming towards the manor quickly and the slight breeze in the air from the window brought in the scent of blood. Sasuke’s blood.

They were quick to rush down and meet him, their oldest son hovering closely when they opened the door to reveal their battered baby boy on the back of a werewolf. 

Mikoto covered her mouth to prevent her scream and Fugaku moved to pick their son up, taking him inside the manor. He ordered Itachi to clear the long kitchen table and he set the youngest son on top it, running down their basement stairs to reach their supply of blood bags. Mikoto observed the bite wounds on her son and felt like her heart was caving into her chest. Sasuke was very pale; his lips were a bluish color. He’s lost too much much blood. Fugaku came back, finding a stand to hold a red pouch and hooking his son in with an iv. He gave a medical kit he found to his wife, telling her to stay calm and start stitching.

“Na-naruto” Sasuke called out pitifully, unable to feel the warmth on his body any longer. Instead, he felt the cold wood of the table seeping into his skin and he felt the last of his will slip away, unable to keep eyes open any longer from the blood loss.

Vampires are usually fast healers under the proper conditions. The regenerative skin of their kind is fast to heal but Sasuke was still a young vampire, his body wasn’t able to do it as quickly as an adult one yet. It also becomes very dangerous if a vampire loses all its blood, that’s one of the fastest ways to die.

The werewolf at the door changed back into a humanoid form and approached the three of them half naked and with caution. He wanted to explain what happened, ask what was going to happen to Sasuke, hold onto Sasuke so that he could know he was there but from his approach, an angry mother rounded on him.

“Get out of my house at once. I don’t want you ever coming back here do you understand me?”

“M-ms. I’m sorry, this was all my fault! We got attacked and I tried to help Sasuke but I-”

“This is your fault,” the long raven haired woman confirmed. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t have come near my son.”

“Young man,” The eldest man said sternly, Naruto assumed that was his friend’s father, “I think it would be best if you do what she says, you need to go.”

Naruto felt emotion cloud together in his throat with a painful burn. His shoulders shook, trying to hold back sobs. Itachi was checking the eyes of his little brother to survey signs of concussion but decided to step in, ushering the young werewolf out of the kitchen and into the parlor.

The shirt wrapped around his brother’s torso belonged to Naruto he figured. Itachi grabbed a throw that was hanging on the couch and tossed it around the boy’s bare shoulders to give him comfort. Naruto looked horrible himself. He had dried blood on his body and scratches were marring his face and chest. 

“Itachi, I’m sorry. I told you that I would look after him but…” shudders started to wrack through his body, making it hard for him to speak, to think. Itachi couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the werewolf. He was obviously scared out of his wits for his little brother. 

Itachi was furious though. He was angry at Sasuke’s battered condition and at the thought that there were werewolves out there still that dared to harm his little brother. He was upset that Naruto didn’t defend his little brother as well as he did for himself. Judging from the blond’s wounds he was trying to help Sasuke but his state was nowhere near as severe as Sasuke’s. He could already notice the werewolf’s wounds slowly healing, his regenerative trait finally kicking in. 

He was mainly angry at himself though. The family shouldn’t have let Sasuke wander so far from the manor but he mainly should have bothered to show Sasuke the techniques he was so eager to learn. If he had taken the time to teach Sasuke how to defend himself with jutsu, he wouldn’t have gotten as hurt as he is.

Itachi sighed, sitting down on the parlor couch and gesturing for Naruto to sit beside him. 

“Talk.” Naruto was quick to inform him about what happened, his pack turning on him, the attack, even the siren, just any information he felt would help Itachi to understand more about Sasuke’s situation. 

Itachi took it all in and stated, “Naruto… I don’t blame you for what happened.” And he couldn’t. It wasn’t fair to place blame on any one person because there were multiple factors that played into what occurred. “Don’t mind our parents, they’re just grieving for the loss of their little boy.”

“But…I thought- I thought he was going to be okay now?! Sasuke’s not going to make it?” Panic rose into the blond’s voice and his hands squeezed themselves so hard he could feel his nails make ridges into his skin.

“Sasuke should be fine. He’s getting enough blood into his system so he should make it through the night. What I mean to say is that my parents are saddened by the loss of Sasuke’s youth.”

At the confused expression Itachi continued. “A large misconception about vampires is that we live forever but that just isn’t the case. If we choose to, we can age our bodies to the brink of death, but we can also remain frozen in an age that appeals to us the most. When vampires are young, they don’t have knowledge on how their bodies age so they remain little for a long time.

Sasuke was an infant for at least two centuries but he remained as a young child up until to the point when he met you.” Itachi watched the curious blue eyes take in the information with shock. “When Sasuke met you, he had finally encountered someone around his physical age group and he liked you enough to want to grow with you. He didn’t understand at the time what he was doing, how his body was changing, but he wanted to change to keep up with you. He’s even grown in the past 24 hours so that your heights would be the same.”

“What?” Naruto blinked. He hadn’t even noticed. In the past few years he had known Sasuke he never really noticed him changing. He hadn’t even noticed himself changing, it was just a normal part of life! But it apparently was a big deal for a vampire.

“My parents kept Sasuke inside all the time because they wanted him to stay as young as he possibly could; once you age there isn’t any going back. Sasuke doesn’t understand what his body is doing but he’s changing. And we Uchiha should blame ourselves, Naruto, because instead of denying it we should have properly prepared Sasuke into the adulthood of a vampire. We can’t protect him forever and it’s clear he has to learn how to defend himself better.”

They heard Sasuke cry out, uncomfortable as his parents tried to heal his wounded body. Naruto’s wolf forced a whine from his throat, concerned for Sasuke and wanting nothing more for him to feel better. 

“I think I understand but I shouldn’t have let Sasuke get put in that position.” Naruto said, looking down at his toes. “I know that lady wants me to leave but please, let me stay until I know Sasuke’s in a stable condition.”

Itachi nodded, getting up so he could talk to his parents and to grab Naruto a bowl of warm water and a rag so he could wash his own wounds. When he came back he set a fire in the fireplace with a few quick hand signs and left Naruto in the parlor so he could finish assisting his parents. Naruto was glad Itachi gave him a fire because he felt so cold. After cleaning himself, he changed back into a wolf and laid down by the flames, letting his fur absorb the warmth. He set his head on his paws and waited. And waited. And waited.

He wasn’t too sure how much time passed. It felt like hours since he had been waiting. He felt his heart beating strongly in his chest, his anxiousness keeping him conscious of every little noise that escaped the kitchen. The sun had set a long time ago and the stars were bright in the black sky to twinkle through the sides of closed curtains. He knew his parents would be worried that he hadn’t come home yet but he couldn’t leave. He couldn’t leave here without knowing for sure that Sasuke was going to be alright. 

Eventually he heard a scuttle in the kitchen, hushed voices and the creak of old wood on the floors of the house sounded and Naruto lifted his head. He waited anxiously for any sign that he could move, which came about 10 minutes later when Itachi stuck his head through the door, and gestured him to follow.

Naruto was quick to raise on his paws and he followed Itachi up the old staircase and back in Sasuke’s room. Sasuke was laying on his bed, covered in gauze with the blood iv still in his arm but he looked a lot better and a lot less pale. Itachi nodded to him, leaving the room so Naruto could have some privacy. He set his head on the soft covers and looked up at the sleeping face of his best friend. _Oh Sasuke, I’m so sorry._ He whined loudly, nosing at a soft warm cheek. He was going to be alright and he was going to survive. He was already sure that Sasuke forgave him but Naruto was going to have a hard time forgiving himself.

He never felt so useless in his entire life. He lost his pack, let his friend get mauled, and couldn’t even do anything to save him. He even let him get sunburned, he chuckled sadly, licking at his pink cheek. He wished he could restart the day, preventing all of the bad things that happened but there are no do-overs in life. 

Naruto stayed for a little while longer before he knew it was time for him to go back. His parents would be out looking for him soon and he needed to let the vampire rest by himself in peace. With a couple of last licks to the raven’s face, Naruto left the room. He headed back down the stairs and was unable to meet the eyes of the elder Uchiha that were cleaning the kitchen. When he left outside the door he saw Itachi standing on the porch with his arms crossed, listening to their surrounding. 

“I can hear calls from the east.” He stated. Naruto perked up his ears and sure enough, there were faint sounds of howls coming from far away in the distance. “They’re looking for you.”

Naruto met Itachi’s eyes and nodded. He had to leave before anything else happened. He swallowed hard in his throat before saying, “Make sure Sasuke’s okay. Tell him I said I’m sorry.” 

He dashed away with that, running away from his guilt and running towards his shame. His parents likely found out about his exile from his small pack. It has no real impact on the werewolf community but he didn’t want to face his father, to see the look of pity on his face. He wished he could just curl up at Sasuke’s side and wait for him to heal but he knew it was impossible. He let his own resonating howl spill through his mouth as he ran lonely through the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor things, my heart gives out.  
> That was the very first fight scene I've ever written so sorry if it kinda sucks but it turned out better than I thought it would! Should I raise it to teen bc of that?!?? I'm not even sure.
> 
> Thanks for reading as always! Please feel free to leave kudos/comment if you liked (*~▽~)


	5. Aftercare

Pain was the only thing in Sasuke’s awareness when he woke. So much of his body hurt; his foot, his side, and especially his hands. He blinked his bleary eyes open to the somber lighting in his room. He could hear the pitter of rain and the flip of a page. Itachi was sitting by his bed, blinking in surprise when Sasuke finally moved.

“Welcome back.”

Sasuke groaned. He still felt half asleep and he tried to stare out his rainy window with as much focus as he could.

“Where’s Naruto?”

“He went back to his own home.”

“…Was he alright?”

“He looked like he would heal nicely.” Itachi stated, remembering the quickly healing skin of the werewolf.

Sasuke brought a bandaged hand to his temple, closing his eyes at a sudden headache. “How long have I been out for?”

“A couple of days. It took your body awhile to get adjusted to the new blood. Actually, I’m surprised you woke up so early.” 

For the past two nights the whole family had periodically come in to check on Sasuke. They checked his stitches, fluffed pillows, and brushed back soft dark colored hair. There was a bit of disagreement on what should be done with the young vampire. To force him to stay in the house would be to preserve his safety but keeping him in the dark would only bring him closer harm. Sasuke had experienced too much of the outside world. His body and his mind weren’t going to stop growing and go back to its childlike wonder of solely the family alone. Most importantly, there was Naruto.

“I have to go see him.” Sasuke tried to sit up, his side and shoulder protesting at the movement, but he felt two fingers press against his forehead, pushing his head back down onto the pillow. 

“You need to rest, Sasuke. It will take your body a few more days to heal completely.”

He huffed in displeasure but relaxed back in the sheets. Their voices must have attracted the attention of their mother because she poked her head in a few moments later. Her face beamed with delight when she noticed her son had indeed finally had woken up. “Oh darling, how are you feeling?” she asked. She moved gracefully to sit on the edge of his bedside and placed her palm on the side of his face. “You still look a little pale.”

“I feel fine. Did Naruto say anything?” 

Her smile faltered a bit and she looked down to brush the soft skin of his pale shoulder.

“He let us know about what happened to you. Outside of that, he only wanted to give you his remorse for the situation.” Itachi again, supplied.

“But did he say he was coming back? How long did he stay here?” Sasuke asked, worried for the blond’s safety in case if he went back home and his old pack mates got ahold of him again.

“Only for a few hours. I believe there were other wolves looking for him and last I heard, mother forbid him from returning to the manor.”

“Mom!”

Mikoto didn’t allow herself to look sheepish. She gently grabbed ahold of her son’s wrapped hands and urged, “Sasuke, it is very dangerous to be around werewolves. I know that Naruto is your friend and you have fun together but he can’t protect you. It’s too risky for you to hang around him, please honey I think you need to let him go.” 

Sasuke shook his head, taking his hands out from underneath her's and frowned, “I can’t do that. The attack wasn’t even his fault. I can’t just forget about him.”

“We’ll spend more time with you. Your father and I can stay awake during the day and we can go for walks just like we did-”

“No!” He shouted at her, something he's never done to her before but her words were making him panic. His emotions gave him a need to breathe quickly and he saw his vision blur even more. He could remember what it was like when he was younger. It felt like he did the very same thing everyday for years; he was happy yet blank, curious yet dull. It was a hazy memory of similar things all within the comfort of the house. 

And he was fine back then, he had felt safe. But the thought of going back to the way things were was felt like a vice squeezing his chest, a noose squeezing the life of his freedom right out of his body. And the concept of leaving Naruto, forgetting about Naruto, that was impossible. He could never forget the bright haired boy that gave his life so much new meaning and filled him arrays of expression. 

Naruto gave him the opportunity to experience things he never had before, to go further than he had ever imagined, and to feel greater than he ever had before. He was learning a lot about the modern world and how people live in it but the most precious thing he acquired from his time with Naruto was to learn how to be a good friend. 

They couldn’t keep him from Naruto. He would never allow it.

“Sasuke! You need to calm down!” He was taking quickened breaths and his body was shaking. He felt something ooze from his nose _blood_ and he closed his eyes to block out the room. The thoughts of him being stripped away from Naruto was haunting his mind but he was determined. He could feel his will to fight for the blond battle against his fears, making his head pound sharply. He couldn’t be afraid. If it had anything to do with Naruto, Sasuke knew he could be lionhearted. Even if it was to face his sometimes scary family, even if it was to risk breaking his mother’s heart.

“I’m not going to give him up. I’ll never do that to Naruto.”

“Your mother is right.” Fugaku added in from the doorway, causing everyone to look at his appearance with surprise. “It is a risky relationship you’re tying yourself into but that only means that you must be prepared. We’ve already hindered you so much Sasuke, and I’m sorry for contributing.” He said in a rare display of feelings.

He gazed at his wife with a sad smile. “Mikoto, it’s time. We can’t keep him from growing up forever. Look at him.” 

All eyes turned to appraise the youngest Uchiha, taking in his features. For many years they were all so used to seeing an innocent cherub face and chubby little limbs but they had changed. He was leaner and taller now. His eyes had hardened from ignorance to intelligence. He wasn’t as pliant to their will and was ready to think independently. He was maturing.

Mikoto sighed with a sad smile of her own, raising her hand to dab a bit at her eyes. “Yes you’re right. It’s just… Sasuke you and your brother are the apple of our eye. All we wanted was to keep you safe and you were the most adorable little baby, we didn’t want to give that up. So we kept you inside as much as we could. You didn’t start growing as quickly until you met Naruto.”

Their little bundle of pure joy and energy couldn’t fail to bring them a very special sort of happiness and so the elder Uchiha held onto it like a lifeline. How could they have possibly given that up? But all things must end in good time, it is inevitable, and Mikoto resigned herself to try to explain exactly how Sasuke’s body was working and why it was adjusting. 

Sasuke digested the information carefully and stated lowly, “I’m not a little kid anymore… I can’t stay a baby forever, I’m ready to grow.”

“I was a bit resentful when I noticed how you were changing while you stayed with your friend but I had never seen you become so adventurous and curious Sasuke and so, well, I suppose it is wrong of me to want to keep you from it.” Mikoto frowned, “Now I suppose it’s far past the time to make up for all the lessons you’ve missed. There’s still a lot you need to learn in order to be a great vampire.”

“I can help with that.” Itachi added in with a half smile, “I promise that I’ll show you the family techniques and jutsu as soon as you get better, Sasuke.”

That made the youngest vampire’s eyes widen in shock. He could hardly believe it! Promises weren’t something his brother took lightly. “Really? You promise?” he asked, getting a nod in return.

“And I’ll allow your friend to stop by sometimes at the manor again. I never did thank him for bringing you back here, he really did end up saving your life.” She stood back up, her satin nightgown swaying easily in place around her hips as she kissed the side of his head. “Now you should get some more rest darling. We’ll be close by if you need anything alright.”

“We love you, son.” Fugaku added gently. 

Sasuke felt his lower lip wobble involuntarily. The acceptance from his family felt like a huge stepping stone for him. Them all being here and encouraging him to move forward in life, with his friend and his abilities, felt like a blessing of sorts. He was going to be able to move forward, to become stronger, to grow. He wiped his nose and closed his eyes, feeling the softness of his sheets caress his body into a relaxed state. “Thank you. I love you too.”

They whispered to him sweet wishes and left him alone to enjoy the security of his friendship and the progress of his healing body. Sasuke still felt very drained so he had no problem dipping quickly back into a quiet rest. He envisioned soft dark grey colors that pulled his mind down to a low pillar of comfort so relaxing that he was a hair’s breath away from deep sleep until-

“Bzz. Bzz Bzz!” Sasuke’s eyes snapped open in a haze. He blinked slowly, looking at a yellow tail that pressed lightly against his shoulder and the man holding it with a smirking face. 

“Oh my god Itachi,” he groaned, “Go away.”

“What? Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do? You’re closer to this generation than I am.” He pressed the tail up to Sasuke’s neck and shook it like it was electrocuting the skin underneath, “Bzz!”

“Mom! Itachi’s bothering me!” 

Itachi couldn’t help but smile, somethings were never going to change so it seemed. He decided to ditch the toy before his mother came in to scold him for waking his brother up. “Tackle!” He threw the large plushy at his brother and ducked out of the room. 

Sasuke was left with an arm full of Pikachu so he moved the plushy to the side of his bed to create more room for his body. The yellow fur felt soft on his skin and he couldn’t help but notice the faint scent of Naruto that lingered from the time he carried it home on his back. It smelled like pine trees with a heavy accompanying scent that just whispered Naruto. He curled up next to the stuffed animal, enjoying the scent, before succumbing to sleep once again.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

“That’s enough for today Sasuke, take a break.” Said raven nodded in agreement, flexing his sore hands that had been doing hand signs for hours. He had almost perfected the fireball justu! He felt energized with his progress and he wanted badly to show it to his friend; he knew Naruto would lose his mind in excitement if he pulled this number on him.

It had been many days since the last time Sasuke saw him. They usually never went more than a week without hearing wind or tail of each other and the unexpected silence was making Sasuke uncomfortable. 

His body was healing nicely, but too slowly for his liking. However, true to his word, Itachi introduced him to some jutsu that would make his body stronger. They said that it would help to strengthen his natural healing abilities as well the more he worked on his mental form. It was true that he was thrilled to finally be learning the amazing moves he’s only ever read about in his family’s history books or witnessed from his brother but he was worried about his dobe. 

What if something happened to him? What if he was taking longer to heal than expected? Could he be mad at Sasuke? The thoughts clogged his mind and it was difficult to focus as the days dragged on before his body was finally healed to an acceptable degree. 

After a few more days, Sasuke decided he had enough waiting. His body was fine and he was confident he could track down Naruto on his own. The blond always made the effort to come to his home to get Sasuke, it’s only fair that he did the same for once.

He had a good idea of where Naruto’s home was but he still squirreled away in the library to pinpoint the exact werewolf community one morning. Memorizing the map, he prepared to leave. He felt pretty sheepish for some reason, actively looking to leave his home on his on, but he left a message for his sleeping parents if they wondered where he was off to. Itachi had left the night before so he didn’t have to deal with crypticness before he left.

The travel in the forest was pleasant as always. It was still pretty early in the morning and there was a crispness in the air and drops of dew sitting on the plant leaves and the grass. The closer he got to the community he more he noticed broken branches and fresh paw prints in the dirt, likely from the playful fun the wolves partake in.

The territory line was as pronounced as his own family’s and Sasuke hesitated before crossing over. It didn’t take a genius to notice the change of scent, marking the land as private and as a warning to stay away. Werewolves and vampires made codes in the forest community generations ago to be mindful of where they go, he would be breaking it if he entered. There was a possibility the other werewolves wouldn’t take to kindly of Sasuke invading their space as his family was to Naruto but he wasn’t too afraid to take the leap. 

He still gave a quick gulp when he crossed over, checking all around him to see if there were eyes watching him.

The werewolf community was beautiful at that. There were many homes spread haphazardly in the woods that sat not too far away from each other. The homes were all built in a log cabin style and the area had a serious campground feel. The roads were all dirt and there were many pine trees settled between the houses. Little stores decorated the area in a homey small-town vibe. 

Sasuke quickly noticed the stares the further he went into the town. There was a tall man that watched him suspiciously, pulling his daughter behind him as he passed by. Curious faces and a few snouts of wolves stuck out of windows, smelling his scent in interest. Elders frowned and children gawked. It was a weird feeling, gaining so much attention, and Sasuke quickened his steps, still having little idea where he was going.

He guessed that Naruto lived in this community but the map hadn’t said anything about his home’s specific location. It was also hard to pinpoint his scent within the musky smell of other werewolves that vacated the woodsy town and he had to walk long distances before he reached different clusters of homes.

He was hoping that by chance he would run into the blond but instead he ended up running into the spiky slouching werewolf that he had met at the beach that one day. His name was Shikamaru, he remembered, and the boy was exiting a little toy shop, a small box of go tiles in his hand. He looked at Sasuke in surprise and rose an eyebrow.

“Sasuke. What brings you over to this part of the forest?”

He hated the way his muscles tensed but he tried to relax and play it as cool as best as he possibly could. He figured that Shikamaru was one of the wolves that attacked him the other day but he doubted anything would happen now. The boy’s stance wasn’t aggressive in the slightest. He had a calm but curious look on his face.

“I’m here to look for Naruto.” Sasuke filled in, “I haven’t seen him in a few days.”

“Oh.” Shikamaru blinked. “Well, the Uzumaki’s aren’t in this direction at all. I can take you by his house if you want?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Sasuke said, a bit surprised at his willingness to show him around. 

The fell into silence as the walked. Sasuke acquired a few shocked and dirty looks as they walked on the main dirt road so Shikamaru suggested they take the shortcut through the trees. Sasuke stayed a few steps behind the werewolf, looking around at the surrounding and wondered what it was like to live next to so many people. He never could really imagine what it would be like to have neighbors. 

Shikamaru soon broke the silence. “Now that I think about it, it’s been a few days since I’ve heard from Naruto too. Well, since the fight actually.”

That didn’t seem all too surprising to Sasuke, they beat the two of them up and kicked the blond out of their group. “Naruto isn’t in your pack anymore right? Why would he stay in contact with you?”

Shikamaru made a face, a small grimace at the raven’s unintentionally accusatory words, but shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve all know each other since we were very little. Even if we aren’t apart of the same pack any longer it’s just weird not to hear word of each other. Especially Naruto. He’s the biggest social butterfly I know.”

Sasuke could definitely see that. He could just imagine his energetic blond friend bouncing around the werewolf grounds, checking in on family members and store owners in his free time. It seemed like such a perfect place for the blond to grow up. But something must be wrong if the wolf was suggesting he wasn’t acting by his usual behavior. 

Shikamaru spied a frown on the vampire’s face and sighed, murmuring about something being troublesome. 

“Hey, I just want to apologize for the other night. We shouldn’t have done that to you. I personally don’t have any beef with you cause I don’t care what you are. Kiba just got jealous of you stealing Naruto’s attention.” He cleared his throat. “Naruto didn’t spend as much time with us anymore and he’s always talking about you…”

Sasuke nodded in understanding and felt a little embarrassed for some reason. That dobe was always looking out for him. That would explain the aggressive behavior Kiba targeted him with if the doting attention Naruto used to give them suddenly changed over to Sasuke. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Kiba doesn’t even follow the old rules. Who cares if Naruto’s friends with a vampire, I don’t think it should matter.” They stopped in a less populated part of the town and Shikamaru pointed in a certain direction, assuring him that Naruto’s house was past a small hill. 

“Tell him I’m sorry for being a real jerk. And watch out where you walk around here, there’s still some people that really don’t like vampires so be careful.”

“Thanks Shikamaru.”

He received a half grin in return. “I feel like I’ll be seeing more of you. Take care.”

Sasuke treaded on the road, feeling rocks press into his shoes before he got to the top of the hill. On the other side sat a large two-story cabin that was surrounded by berry bushes. There was smoke coming from the chimney and the windows were all open, showing lamps and cozy looking furniture. He walked up the stairs of the deck and knocked firmly on the thick wooden door. 

Naruto had described his family to Sasuke many times and the raven always assumed that they were nice people. His father was the alpha of their whole community and his wife was supposedly a fierce woman that stood by his side against all odds. They were very important people and their status should make him worried of possible prejudices but he could only assume that they had to be good people in order to have a son who’s soul is so pure.

He waited a few minutes but there was no reply. He knocked again, getting no response. Sasuke narrowed his eyes to the smoking chimney. The lights were on too so there had to be someone home. He walked around to the edge of the house, trying to spy if any people were inside. 

That’s one benefit to having open windows, your best friend can be a creep and look inside. He wondered briefly if his parents were paranoid that something like that would happen to them; sunlight wouldn’t hurt him he couldn’t see why they couldn’t just leave the curtains alone. 

He saw a slight movement in a top floor window, the shadow of Naruto’s head being unmistakable. Gotcha Sasuke smirked. 

He could have done the reasonable thing and kept knocking at the door, shout up to the window or even throw rocks at it, but where was little fun in that? Plus, he didn’t want to wait forever. The little wedges that the logs created when pressed together gave the perfect avenue for climbing and Sasuke found himself making his way to the top in no time. 

The window that he had caught sight of Naruto in was large and had dark brown boards around it. He could easily tell there was a lock on the window and so he decided to tap the glass so he could be let in. He didn’t want to break their property.

“Sasuke! What- what the heck are you doing!” Naruto’s voice exclaimed loudly in confusion at the sight of his friend. Naruto certainly never expected to see Sasuke all the way in this side of the forest but he most of all he never imaged he see his figure scaling up his house like a burglar.

Sasuke just wasn’t expecting his friend to be on the ground instead of in the house. 

He froze and gazed down at the road under him, seeing Naruto carrying a large bag of groceries and standing next to a red haired woman. He turned back to the window in confusion, then who was? 

The window rose and there stood a face almost identical to Naruto, save the age difference. They had the exact same color and style of spiky blond hair and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to smack himself in the forehead. The man was holding paperwork in his hand, that had to be Naruto’s alpha dad.

“Umm, can I help you?”

“Sasuke what are you doing?” Naruto insisted from below.

“Oh no, sorry I-“

“Don’t just let him hang there Minato! Help him inside!” The woman yelled.

And that was how Sasuke ended up meeting the Uzumakis.

Naruto’s father Minato, and mother, Kushina, were very sweet and boisterous, Sasuke could easily see where Naruto got his personality from the bickering couple. His parents never interacted with each other with quite as much spirit so Sasuke found them pretty funny to listen to.

Kushina gushed over him, saying how great it was to finally meet Sasuke because Naruto spoke highly of him. Naruto was trying his best to calm his excited mother down but she steamrolled the raven into the family, setting him up with a plate of breakfast even though Sasuke insisted it wasn’t necessary.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer the door for you.” Minato added in between bites of French toast. “I usually get hassled so much during the day, I like to have the morning to myself.”

“It’s fine,” Sasuke said easily, observing his friend’s blushing face with curiosity. 

“Naruto, you’ve hardly eaten anything. And you too Sasuke?”

“I’m not very hungry ma’am.” Sasuke could never be hungry for anything that wasn’t blood. These human foods failed to provide him with any sustenance and he didn’t feel particularly daring to divulge into the sugary sweet looking foods. It seemed like something his brother would like though.

“Um mom, dad, can Sasuke and I be excused?”

Kushina gave him a knowing smile and Minato appraised them warily. 

“Go right ahead!” 

“Thanks.” Naruto said and he practically dragged the vampire up the stairs and into his room. Sasuke was quick to admire the lovely bright space of the home. It was filled with warm colors that seemed to fit the Uzumaki personality perfectly. The windows were all open, lighting every room in the house and a pretty fire flamed energetically, chasing off the chill of the morning. 

Naruto brought them up to his room and snapped the door shut with a sigh of relief. Sasuke took in his bedroom; it looked very different than his own. His furniture was obviously from this century and his walls were plastered with posters of different bands and video games. A big window overlooked the pine forest and the rising sun made it glitter brightly like a star.

“Sasuke,” Naruto started. “what are you… I mean, why did you come here?”

Sasuke observed the look of guilt and mild frustration that decorated the blond’s face. He didn’t want to meet Sasuke’s eyes and the refusal made the raven feel a little isolated. 

“You didn’t come back to see me.” The face hardened by a fraction. “I wanted to make sure you were alright.” 

“I’m fine Sasuke.” This time Naruto raised his eyes, sweeping them over Sasuke carefully. “How about you. Are your wounds healed?” 

Sasuke raised up his hands in proof. If he were an ordinary human, his hands would still definitely be mangled and impaired with nerve damaged forever. Instead, Sasuke’s pale hands were smooth, all bones in place and the only sign of injury was from faint scaring of teeth marks that were already almost gone from sight.

Naruto gave a little smile at that, grabbing them and turning them over. Sasuke squawked a bit in surprise when Naruto suddenly lifted up his blue shirt, surveying the also faint scarring on the bite wound that was on his stomach. 

“They look good. Wow, even a werewolf wouldn’t be able to get rid of scars like that so quickly.”

“Naruto”, Sasuke started, “What’s going on with you? Why haven’t you been around?”

“I’m fine, Sasuke.”

“Don’t lie.” He hissed, “Shikamaru said he hasn’t seen you in a while either, you’re not acting like yourself.”

“You saw Shikamaru!” The faint smell of his former packmate that brushed against his friend’s clothes suddenly became obvious to him. “When did that happen?”

“When I was coming here. I ran into him and he pointed me in the right direction. He said he’s sorry too, for the other day.”

“Oh...”

Sasuke was starting to feel a little impatient. Why was the blond avoiding his question?

“Naruto.” He growled.

Finally, he prompted Naruto to start speaking but the words made Sasuke feel like he was getting a swift punch in the gut. “Listen, I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to hang around each other so much anymore.”

“What?” The feeling was back, the one that felt like a weight was crushing his chest and a noose hung high waiting to strangle his will.

“Well you know, you’re a vampire and I’m a werewolf. It’s probably for the best if we’re not together anymore.” He muttered. 

It was ridiculous to say he would rather die than to continue without with his friend to cause havoc and shenanigans throughout the woods but the thought brought a sharp pain to his heart. He didn’t want to be without Naruto and the mere suggestion of ending their friendship from the blond made Sasuke feel shell shocked. Their friendship, one of the most important things that Sasuke held dear to himself, was being brushed off by the blond and it felt like rejection, deception, and betrayal.

But Sasuke couldn’t believe it. There was no way that Naruto was willing to give him up. They had been best pals for so long and they never had any problems before. It never mattered to them that one was a werewolf and the other was a vampire. Until now. Until a spotlight of disapproval was shown on his back that had nothing to do with the both of them but with old social constructs that had no business interfering with their relationship.

“You’re embarrassed to be around me.”

Naruto looked up, surprised. “What? No-”

“Or maybe I’m not good enough for you? You think that if we’re friends, you’ll never be able to be alpha of your people.” It was a viable thought. If the community disapproved of his actions they wouldn’t be very willing to accept him as their leader one day. At the visible wince of the blond’s face, Sasuke’s heart sunk but he kept his face as unreadable as he could. 

So that’s what was. Naruto had considered the pros and cons and this is what he came up with? Sasuke couldn’t even really blame him, it was Naruto’s dream to lead. Sasuke never really had one but he knew that dreams were something you were supposed to protect at all costs. Of course, Naruto wouldn’t want him getting in the way of that and how could he?

Sasuke averted his eyes and turned around, preparing to leave out the room when a solid hand caught his wrist.

“Wait, that’s not it Sasuke, you are enough. You mean a lot to me Sasuke! Being your friend won’t have anything to do with getting to become alpha.”

At the glare the raven pointed at him Naruto sheepishly added, “Well, it wouldn’t help.”

“Then what is it? If I mean so much to you then why are you willing to let me go?”

Naruto felt his throat swell again. The rising emotion in his body was so hard to keep at bay when two charcoal eyes stared into his. Ones that had almost faded into nothing. The grip of his hand tightened a little more on a pale wrist, unwilling to let it fall.

“It’s because...” he whispered, “I can’t risk you getting hurt again Sasuke. It’s dangerous for you to be around me. Maybe your folks don’t care about what I am but a lot of people in my community care about what you are. I don’t want them to hurt you.”

Sasuke glared, shaking his wrist away so he could shove Naruto’s shoulders, making the blond stumble back a few steps. 

“Who do you think I am? I’m not some weakling.”

“Sasuke, they could have killed you.”

To say that Sasuke was frustrated would be way beyond an understatement. Everyone was always doubting his abilities and treating him like a baby. He had just finally gotten his family to change their views but now Naruto was doing the exact same thing! That wasn’t Naruto’s job to worry about his safety, it was his own.

Without hesitation Sasuke pulled a few quick hand signs, grateful that he had finally gotten it down to the point where he didn’t have to stop and repeat because of an error. “Fire style! Fire Ball Justu!” He circled his fingers around his thumb and blew within, creating a bright ball of flames and sweltering heat that he kept close to his body. 

He saw Naruto’s eyes widen in amazement and he couldn’t help but let his ego flare just a smidge with a smirk. Yeah~ 

The heat of the flames spread through the air and the smoke it emitted was quick to harass the inconspicuous fire detector sitting in the corner ceiling of Naruto’s room. They both flinched when it started to wail in alarm. Sasuke dropped the justu and Naruto ran to his window, opening it up to let out the fumes. The loudness of the beeping was hurting both of their sensitive ears and they fanned persistently at it to get it to settle.

Naruto couldn’t help but chuckle, finding the whole situation pretty hilarious and Sasuke allowed himself to crack a small smile. “Sorry about that.”

Kushina knocked on the door at some point to ask if everything was alright and went away at Naruto’s persistence that it was.

“Woah, when did you learn how to do that?”

“Last week. Itachi is finally showing me techniques to make me stronger so you don’t have to worry about me. If I keep training, I’ll be able to handle any creature.”

“You’ll be able to handle any bonfire too hehe, that’ll come in handy if you ever go camping.”

“Naruto,” he groused, exasperated, “I’m trying to be serious here!”

“Yeah yeah, I can see that.” Naruto looked at him with an easy smile, finally feeling the unwarranted tension leave his body. He thought he could create some sort of distance between them, that avoiding him for a while could make him tough enough to stay away but it seemed impossible. Naruto was miserable the past couple of weeks; unwilling to leave his room for more than a couple of hours and strictly refusing to interact with any of his peers. 

Just seeing Sasuke again filled him with an energy that made it possible for Naruto to laugh and crack his first real smile in days. He felt relief going through his body. There was at least one other person that cared about their relationship enough to try to bring it back together. Sasuke had even ventured into restricted territory to get to him and that’s nothing to wave off. 

Naruto wanted for everything to just be okay now but it couldn’t be that easy. He moved to sit down on his bed, feeling solemn again. It was great that the vampire was training now and was getting stronger, however…

“But still…it’s dangerous for you to be around me. Some of these other wolves, Sasuke, they’ll never see you as one of us.” 

Sasuke frowned, grabbing onto Naruto’s shoulders this time to not push away but to emphasize with feeling. 

“That’s fine, I don’t have to be. I will be able to hold my own soon and I don’t care about what they think about me. I don’t even care about what my family thinks about us.”

As his face got closer, Naruto leaned back. He felt his back touch the duvet and he watched the two eyes of the boy on top of him flame with such determination it made his heart beat faster in his chest.

“And being my friend doesn’t make you weak or shameful. Maybe it goes against tradition but that’s what makes you better than everyone else. You’re willing to extend your hand and help people that aren’t even of your own kind. You’re compassionate and accepting and that, Naruto, is exactly what’s going to make you a great alpha.” The raven smiled at him and touched their foreheads together, looking into his blue eyes that quivered a bit as water clouded their vision.

“It might not be today, tomorrow, or a year from now but you will become a great leader. You can change the way that they think; if anyone could do it, I know it’d be you. I believe in you, Naruto.”

Naruto blinked up at him in wonder at the raven’s words. Sasuke wasn’t going to give up on him! Sasuke wasn’t shaming him for being weak, for losing his pack, for being unable to protect one other person. No, he still believed in him. He was still willing to fight to stay by his side. 

So maybe he did lose his pack, maybe he wouldn’t ever become alpha of the community one day but Naruto still had his best friend and that fact felt way more important to Naruto than anything else. Sasuke wasn’t going to abandon him regardless of the risk. He was here, in his room, holding onto him like he depended on it, like their friendship depended on it. And Naruto held back, feeling his heart swell in affection. Somewhere inside him, the hollow space filled again. 

Sasuke moved over and they were soon laying side by side, listening to the birds from outside the window, the bangs of pans cleaning in the kitchen, and the soft breaths coming from each other's lips. 

He felt such a strong emotion for Sasuke sweep through his body and bloom into something exciting and daring. He wasn’t sure what to say or how to express it but the warmth of the raven and his sweet accompanying scent made Naruto’s wolf curl up in pure happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Feel free to leave a kudos/comment if you liked~ (°◡°♡).:｡


	6. Sharp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I couldn't help myself!
> 
> My brain said do it do it, so I did.

Bonus

Itachi is just loosening the tie around his hair when the cool blue of the water beneath him turned a slight shade darker. He had left out early in the morning to reach this part of the ocean and the rising sun was just starting to sparkle brightly on the water’s horizon.

He liked to come to the long abandoned dock that sat out into the water and there, at the very top edge, is where he would sometimes sit, stick his toes in and wait. 

Despite the early chill, the water was still warm and Itachi could appreciate the soft feeling of waves brushing up against his lower half. The breeze was soft, making the black strands of his hair flutter and he looked down into the water with anticipation.

“Are you looking for some attention?” a gravely low voice asked. Itachi observed the large blue triangular point of a fin circle his feet before dipping down and having a head emerge in its place. “It’s been too long Itachi. Why haven’t you come to visit me?”

Kisame, one of Itachi’s oldest friends, habited the ocean. They met through the Akatsuki, a group of misfit creatures that made a point to gather every now and then and Itachi took a shining to him, often visiting the humanoid shark when the members don’t get together for long periods of time. 

“I’ve been a bit busy lately. I’m teaching my little brother how to perform jutsu.”

He chuckled, “Ahh, Sasuke’s finally getting his training wheels taken off.” Indeed, he was and it was taking a little more time and work than Itachi had initially imagined but none the less, he was glad that he could show his little brother the ropes, no matter how easy or hard some of the techniques were for him to get down.

“You let your hair down.” Kisame stated. He was taking in the pale sculpted face and was trying his best not to stare too hard. Inwardly Itachi smile, knowing how much the other liked to see it hanging down his shoulder. 

Kisame, on the other hand, had short spiky blue hair and grey-blue skin that spanned everywhere, even on the several sets of gills that were placed along the toned body. He had the sharp teeth of a shark and dark irises that looked very flattering with the curved shape of his eyes. Itachi was always secretly pleased that the supposed ‘brute’ of a creature would be able to become so enamored with the littlest things that Itachi managed to do.

“I’m going for a swim. I think I will be needing your assistance too.”

“What’s up?”

Itachi filled Kisame in on what Naruto had told him had happened the last time he and Sasuke were at the beach. They had encountered a siren and Itachi wanted them out of the area just in case the two of them wandered back over to the ocean. This was definitely Kisame’s territory and so Itachi poked at his friend for allowing this to happen.

“Well yeah I knew they were moving closer inwards but I didn’t know they were messing with anyone.” Itachi rose an unimpressed brow.

“Fine fine, I’ll chase them out. Are you coming?” The raven smirked and shed off his clothes. He folded his shirt and pants on the dock’s edge, leaving him with only with his looped circle black neckless and his red swim piece. He knew that Kisame was attracted to him and he could feel the way the dark eyes were moving up and down his toned figure, _everywhere_. Itachi didn’t feel in the least perturbed as he flexed, curved his body, and dove into the deep blue.

So he liked to be a little flirty, so what?

He resurfaced with a refreshing gasp and leaned some of his body weight on a blue shoulder that was quick to wrap its arm around his torso. 

“H-hold on to my fin.” Kisame cleared his throat, “I’ll swim us over once I figure out where they went.”

“Okay.” Itachi reached down, grabbing onto the large pectoral and ignoring the slight shudder that ran through the other’s body. Kisame drifted further down into the water and let his two legs shift into the tail of a shark; he only ever did it when he needed to swim fast.

They moved quickly through the liquid depths and Itachi stuck close to his side, gliding beside him while the large creature’s speed pulled him along. There was a skittering of fish and a couple of seals but Kisame kept his focus and swam into a deeper part of the ocean. 

Itachi let his eyes bleed red to sharpen his vision; they were approaching a dark shadow at the bottom of the ocean floor. Only going a little further down, Itachi identified the shape to be that of an old abandoned ship. There was a torn sail that was rotting with barnacles and its mast was leaning heavily in a 60-degree angle. The bow was completely detached from the ship, the wood likely had given in and was sitting a few feet away, and there were glittering coins and algae covered trunks between the space they created.

It was quite obviously a sunken ship from long ago and a spot Kisame felt was suitable for the sea witches. Kisame had encountered many different sea creatures in his life but he usually never tangled with the sirens, finding their company to be less than pleasant. He tended to avoid them at all costs. All that interested the sirens was eating and drowning creatures from the surface.

Their songs and hypnotic voices don't work on other supernatural creatures so it wasn’t like he feared them; Kisame could handle himself well on his own but they were dead, almost like soulless creatures. They were water zombies in their own way and Kisame always got the chills when they were around him. 

“ _This is it_.” Kisame signaled, pointing to the dark entrance of the ship that led down the second floor. They must be in there. Itachi huffed bubbles in irritation, he’d have rather not go inside but apparently the sirens were not going to leave off the ship to meet them. 

Itachi felt Kisame’s tail bump against him and he slowed his speed and maneuvered them down a close quarter staircase that led to the second floor of the ship. He let go of the pectoral and Kisame immediately swam to a room on the right and Itachi chose one on the left. 

Floating at the top of a private dining sector, a siren swished at the top and charged towards the raven. The creature was large, at least twice his size, but he was easily able to dodge the pointed, claw like bony fingers and the massive tails that swung in its wake.

Itachi was able to move through the water smoothly and initiated a few hand signs that made his target catch fire in several places. With his concentration, the fire was able to hold despite the fact that they were indeed underwater and the creature screeched, swimming around wildly to fruitlessly put out the flames. 

Another siren busted up through the wooden parquet below him but less than a couple of seconds later Kisame followed, hot on its tail. With their speeds, they managed to make Itachi lose his position and spin a few times around in the water. He huffed again, noticing his fire had gone out due to the distraction but instead of reattacking him, his siren escaped the room and entered another. The other one and Kisame had disappeared within the ship, out of his sight, so Itachi continued to the next room.

Kisame was actually having a lot of fun chasing the noisy creatures away. He’s a well known shark in these part of the waters and his opponents do well to fear him. The sirens that swam away at his sight were right in doing so, his strength was much more superior to theirs and he would make sure he let the ones that chose to attack him know it too. 

He let his current chase of a siren end when he noticed six others in a crustacean filled ballroom start to circle above his body. He grinned at the waiting challenge.

Meanwhile, Itachi was deflecting the advances of a siren’s tail on a metal pan while his other hand was free to perform jutsu that would make parts of another one behind him combust. Itachi’s hair danced wildly in the water and he flinched when his exposed thigh almost came in contacted with the rusted steel edge of a broken counter. 

This was ridiculous, he didn’t come down here to try to get tetanus or blood poisoning. Why was he fighting in a speedo again?

He grunted when the siren at his front pushed hard enough that the pan slipped through his fingers and he was pushed back into a bloated wooden wall. The gnashing teeth of the creature approached his face but Itachi didn’t hesitate to sign for flames to burst out of his mouth, scalding the bones in front of him. The creature screeching fiercely, the noise vibrating thickly in the water and made Itachi’s body waver momentarily. The frequency really hurt his ears but he gritted through it, happy when the siren decided to abandon him and swim out and away from the boat. 

He could hear a groaning of the ship and rattled sounds coming out of a foyer in the hallway. Itachi swam his way over and poked his head in a large room to see Kisame battling with some of the large creatures. They attacked him from different directions but Kisame was able to deflect them with his powerful tail and his large hands grasped onto whatever bone that came within reach and snapped it. 

He was also able to change the texture of his body, which he called shark skin, an ability he had shown off several times to the other Akatsuki when they got together. His forearms could change into hard scales that were able to shred through anything. Itachi saw him slice a few of the creatures’ arms and tail fins off and they floated down in the water.

There were a pile of bones littering the floor and Itachi frowned; they were only supposed to chase them away, not destroy them! Itachi didn’t feel any warmth for the creepy creatures, especially after learning about what they had done to his brother and his friend, but that didn’t mean they had to use unnecessary violence.

The flames that he had made stick to their body didn’t really seem to damage the bones. It likely had the same burning sensation and frightened them but physically he made sure to leave them mostly unharmed.

Almost feeling Itachi’s glare, Kisame looked over and gave him an innocent expression, pouting a bit. He knew what that look was for but sirens are hearty creatures! When Kisame noticed their size he was shocked; he had never encountered ones so large before in his life. The way that sirens grow is from using the bones of creatures they killed to add along to their form. 

The disturbing ritual was natural for their kind but Kisame could agree that letting them get too large would be bad for the ocean. They could survive a few bones being taken away so he didn’t feel too guilty, despite the heated look on his body when he fought. 

Itachi got to work, since he was there, setting a particularly large bony arm on fire and holding it as long as the creature could bear. His sharp eyes caught one heading towards him quickly out of his periphery but before he could flash his hands to make it burn, a large figure bowled into him. 

Kisame pushed his body down to the floor to get him out of harm’s way but in the process, he suffered long scratch marks up the side of his face from a hand.

Itachi frowned up at the shark, gesturing in irritation at his interference. He was perfectly fine! He didn’t need Kisame’s help on that one, he absolutely had it covered, but Kisame only grinned sheepishly and swam away to fight off the rest of them.

Itachi watched him with his his arms crossed as he intimidated the last of the sirens to swim away and abandon the ship. They would all be gone very quickly and would return back to whatever depths of the ocean they came from, Itachi hoped. The sea life on the floor was still active and he made sure to push up and away when a lobster came a little too close to his feet than he would like. He still needs those toes. He followed Kisame when the final siren gave up and fled, leaving out to the ocean from a large hole in the ship’s side. 

He swam up beside him, holding back on to the large back pectoral again as they saw the saw of sirens leaving the area. Kisame was grinning widely. He doubted that they would be back anytime soon.

Itachi sighed out the last of his bubbles in content as he felt Kisame drag him away back to the other side of the ocean where they came from. Ascending, the water felt warmer on his skin and by the time they resurface, the sun was well on its way to be high in the sky.

The dock felt warm under his fingers when Itachi dragged his body up. His lower half came up involuntarily more slowly due to his jelly leg muscles, unthinkingly giving Kisame a perfect view of his toned behind and solid thighs. 

He sat up on the dock in relief and peered at the tinted purple cheeks of the man beneath him. Two blue hands grasped onto the dock beside him, lifting his body up, and Itachi used his own pale one to inspect the raised trails of scratches on the side of Kisame’s face. The gills under his left cheek were inflamed from irritation and Itachi inspected them gently, a frown on his lips. 

“You didn’t have to do that. I was perfectly fine on my own.”

“Ah, I know you were Itachi.” He said lowly, enjoying the hand stroking his face. All of the few time that they had sparred together with the Akatsuki, Itachi had whipped his butt. There was no doubt in his mind that the raven would have been fine but he couldn’t help protecting him in that moment. 

Itachi gave him a small smile, a rarity in its own, and Kisame drank it up as long as it lasted on his face. 

“Well, thank you for having my back. But next time, leave my battles to me.” He said, leaning down to place a soft peck on a protruding cheekbone. 

The area whirled with color soon after, blood rushing to the man’s face and tinting his blue skin to violet. Itachi suppressed a chuckle at the reaction and looked at him curiously. He had always wondered about the shark’s passivity to his teasing. 

“Kisame, if you don’t mind me asking, why is it that you hesitate?”

Hesitate? The question swirled through his fuzzy mind as he searched for an answer but there were so many. He hesitated because he respected him? Respected him enough to keep boundaries and not jump to conclusions? He didn’t want to chance driving the raven away for good? He’s a strange blue monster?

He felt uncomfortable trying to express what he was feeling so he muttered into the wood, “… I have sharp teeth,” he decided. That fact alone was enough to drive of many potential ocean suitors away. It’s pretty hard to kiss when you have razor blades in your mouth. 

Itachi only gave a sly smile, using his finger to tip the other’s chin back up so that their eyes would meet. Kisame noticed two sharp fangs hanging over his pink bottom lip, “What a coincidence, so do I.”

He pulled the blue face up and proved just how unperturbed he was then their mouths knocked together. Their breath mingled and a blue hand holding onto the edge moved to squeezed lightly on a pale knee. He knew that Kisame had a reason other than the one he mentioned but he wanted to chase away those insecurities, just like they had the sirens; one by one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> （；￣︶￣）I see you Itachi~ Hooray for Kisaita!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
